#then after a multi-year run I've realized that's just him.

[cloama]

New Forever Fave has been cemented.

[reareaotaku]

Superboy vs Robin

Summary: The life of 3 best friends that get confused when realizing they have a crush on their other friend, Y/n Prince, daughter of Wonder Woman Pairings: Jon Kent x Fem! Reader, Damian Wayne x Fem! Reader Tw: Love V [NOT TRIANGLE!!! IT'S A 'V'], Slow Burn? Taglist: N/a

Pt II: Love in High Places | Pt III: Apple of My Eye

[This probably would have been better to write as a multi-part story instead of a one-shot, so I can really get the slow burn and such... Might make a part 2 if yall like this? Also hope this isn't bad because I've been wanting to write this for over a year....]

You had met the two boys when in the league's spaceship. Your mother was on business and sent you off to do, as she put it 'Children things', before taking off with Batman and Green Lattern. You rolled your eyes at her dismissal, but decided to find something else to do. Besides, hero work was boring anway. Nothing interesting about discussing rules and such anyway.

You walked around the large spaceship, before coming across a particular room. In the room where two kids, boys, around your age you didn't recognize. One of the boys, the one in darker clothes, must have felt your presence, because the second you stepped in he turned around.

Damian knew who you were. He knew who everyone was. He would look like a real fool if he didn't know the daughter of Wonder-woman. Too bad the same couldn't be said for Jon.

You awkwardly stand at the door way, now having both the boys' attention on you. You awkwardly wave, "Hey."

Jon's face lights up and he rushes to you. He loved meeting new people and you were nothing short of pretty. "Hi!" He grabs your hand, engulfing it with his own. "I'm Jon, Jon Kent."

"Y/n Prince." You tried to keep up with his handshake, but he was fast and strong, and by the time you could gather what was going on he had already let your hand go.

You looked past Jon back at the emo boy, but he was just staring at you. Jon looked over to see what you were looking at, before gesturing towards his friend.

"Oh, that's Damian. Don't mind him. He's.... Shy."

"I'm not shy. I just don't have any reason to speak to her."

Jon gasps, before glaring at his friend, "That's rude, Damian." He turns back to you, his face flushed in embarrassment. "I'm sorry about him. He's not good with people."

You nod, still staring at Damian. "He's Batman's kid, right? The son of those assassins?"

Damian's eyes widen, but only for a brief second. He could let such an emotion out.

"My mother mentioned it a while ago. She didn't say much, just that you were... Different."

"Yeah, he is different." Jon jokes, causing you both to chuckle, but Damian just rolls his eyes.

---

You and Jon stuck your faces to the fish tank. Neither of you had ever seen a fish tank before. You were both stuck in the house by your parents in fear of you revealing yourselves on accident. Your parents have isolated you both- Even Damian was isolated, but he wasn't as naive and foolish as you and Jon.

"Oh, that one's purple," You point to a triangle-shaped fish.

"No, it's a dark blue," Jon argues, causing you to side-eye him.

You rolled your eyes, but don't respond.

"Hey, Y/n."

"Yeah, Jon?"

He looks over at you, wide eyed and excited, "You ever been Tire-rolling?"

"Tire-rolling?"

---

"I don't know if this is a good idea, Jon-" You try and reason, as your hands grip the tire's rubber.

He smiles, his hands gripping the tire, "Oh, it'll be fun. Promise!" He then pushes you, but instead of pushing you at a normal strength, he accidentally uses his super strength and sends you flying. His eyes widen as his mouth drops, before he runs after you, hoping you don't get hurt.

You scream as the tire jumps and hits multiple things while going faster than you've ever gone before. You grip the inside of the tire so hard, that you can feel your nails digging into your palm. You hear cars honking, but there's nothing you can do, without using your powers.

Though, luck must have been on your side, because while you're mid way in the air, something goes through the tire and harshly pulls you down. Your face slams into the tire, your hands ripping the tire's rubber. The tire falls flat on the ground and you sit up, rubbing your head.

Above you was the one and only, Damian Wayne. He was in his school uniform and he was looking down at you annoyed. In his hand was a grappling hook, which you assume he used to save you.

You quickly stand up, brushing off your clothes, "Uh, thanks."

Before Damian can respond, like he would, you hear Jon calling out to you.

"Y/n! Oh my god, Y/n! Are you okay?" He's nearly out of breath as he runs up to you before he stops. "Oh. Uh, hi Damian."

There's a moment of awkward silence, before Jon goes back to his normal self.

"What are you doing, Damian?"

"Nothing." Damian is quick, calculated even.

You had only known the two boys for a few months, but it felt like you had known Jon your whole life and this moment felt like the first time meeting Damian. Though, Damian was busy, so you couldn't really blame him. He was the son of a man with an empire and an assassination group. He was bound to be tied up from time to time.

"Uh, do you want to hang out, Damian?"

Damian is taken by surprise. You wanted to hang out? With him? Why?

Jon went to speak for Damian, but Damian interrupts him, "Sure."

"Really?" Both you and Jon speak at the same time, before you both blush out of embarrassment.

"I mean, great. Wow, okay. Yeah, let's hang out."

---

Damian groaned, before laying down on the roof. He could hear Jon and Y/n snickering to themselves, probably over something stupid. He closes his eye, their voices slowly fading from his mind. He didn't know how you had convinced him to hang out with you on a roof in the middle night.

He didn't like you, so he didn't know why he listened to you. He had no reason to care about what you said or thought, but yet here he was.

You had some kind of pull over him and he didn't know why. There was nothing about you that was different from the other superheroes. Sure, you were pretty, but so was Starfire, Raven, Super-woman, etc.

He looks over at you as you lean on Jon's shoulder, whispering some secret into his ear. He wondered what secrets you two were sharing. Maybe if he asked you'd let him in? He didn't know.

He takes his eyes off of you and looks back at the sky. It was a dark and cloudy night, like most nights in Gotham. Though, unlike most nights, it was quiet; Almost peaceful.

It bothered Damian. More than he'd like to admit. He felt an ich in his skin, like he was supposed to be doing something, but there was nothing to do. There was no fight to fight or crime to solve. It was peaceful for the first time in a long time.

---

Jon liked you, a lot. Like more than he's ever liked someone in his life. He feels immense emotions when he's around you, even if your mother doesn't like him. Though, your mother didn't like men period.

He was thankfully you didn't receive that quality from your mother. You were much nicer and happier than your mother. But that could be because you weren't tortured in the same way your mother was by the women of Themyscira.

In fact, they adored you. They treated you like some kind of goddess and cherished you. Jon understood though. You were perfect- At least to him you were. He thought everyone should treat you like the perfect person you are because you deserve nothing less.

---

You were alone with Damian for the first time in all the years you've known each other. You sighed, squeezing your eyes shut. You didn't know how you were going to tell them you were going to be leaving for Themyscira.

Your mother wanted you to be trained by the Amazons to be able to control your powers and abilities. While she herself was banished, she knew they would welcome you with welcome arms.

You knew Jon would take it hard, but it was only going to be for a year. Just a year. A year you'd be away from your best friends. So, there was a part of you that hoped if you told Damian first, it'd be easier to break it to Jon.

"So, when do you leave?"

You looked over at Damian, confused, "Leave?"

"I heard your mother talking to my father. She said she was sending you to Themyscira to train. So," He sits up on his bed, making direct eye contact with you, "when do you leave?"

"Next month. I'll be gone for a year."

"A year?"

"Yeah. My mom wanted me to stay for 3, but I was able to talk her down from it."

"Have you told Jon?"

"No..."

"Well, you know he's not going to react well."

"Yeah. That's why I've been procrastinating it."

"Can I write you?"

You frown, "No. The island is cut off from the world. So, no contact at all. Not even with my mom."

He now frowns, but says nothing more.

---

You sigh, leaning on your hand, your sword tossed on the ground. Before you stood Philippus, your mentor.

"Princess Y/n, what is bothering you so?"

You couldn't tell her you missed your friends. If she knew they were boys you knew you would get scolded. The Amazons didn't like men, because they were chaos and destruction and they were peaceful. A part of you understood, because you've seen the terrible things men can do, but your friends- they weren't like those men.

"Nothing... Just tired."

She takes your answer, even though she knows you're lying. You were frustrated and annoyed. You had been here for a month and found yourself making no progress. This was pointless.

You could have been with your friends, but here you were on some stupid island. You wanted to your friends.

"You know, if you don't get these down in the upcoming year, you'll have to stay."

You straighten up and glare at the woman. "No, I won't-"

Philippus quickly turns around, looking at you offended, "Excuse me?"

"Nothing." You quickly respond not wanting to repeat yourself.

She huffs, rolling her eyes, but decides to leave the conversation.

---

It had been a year since you were forced, by your mother, to train on the Themyscira Island. They wanted you to know how to use your powers to the fullest potential. It was fine... But you missed your friends. You wondered what they were doing. You wondered if they missed you too.

---

Jon was estatic. You were finally going to return from the island. Though, there was a part of him that was worried that you wouldn't remember them or even worse, you would hate them.

"You worry too much," Damian told him.

Jon sighs, trying to collect himself, "I'm just worried." Jon fiddles on his toes, as he repeated looks out of the window, hoping to see you pull up. Though, you were no where to be found. He walks away from the window, his shoulders dropping. "How far is that place?"

"Themyscira? It's a few weeks by boat, but she'll be here soon. She's home now."

Jon lightens up, "Home?"

"Yeah, she won't be here for a few more hours."

Jon glares at Damian, "You had me here looking like an idiot!"

Damian chuckles, "Yeah. I did, didn't I?"

---

Damian wasn't surprised by your appearance, unlike Jon. Damian had already seen you, without you knowing of course. You think he'd let you leave without any kind of contact? He knew everything, thanks to his connections. Though, nothing could compare to you really being in front of you.

Jon was the first to hug you. His arms squeezed you tightly, nearly causing you to lose your breath. He didn't want to let you go- Just hold you forever. He didn't want you leaving forever, but he was forced to let you go.

"You look great, Y/n."

You smile, a blush forming, "You too, Jon." You look around Jon to see Damian, who was avoiding eye contact. It almost reminded you of when you had first met the boys. "No hug, Damian?"

Damian finally looks at you, his natural glare on his face. Unlike Jon, who had let his hair grow out, Damian still had shorter hair, but his features were sharp. Though, that didn't surprise you. What did take you by surprise though is how much he looked like his father.

While Jon looked like a mix of Clark and Lois, Damian just looked like his father. Well, minus his golden skin- He got that from his mother.

Speaking of Jon, you felt him squeeze your bi-cep. You looked at him confused and he blushed.

"Uh, what are you doing, Jon?"

"Your biceps. They're like... Huge." He's fascinated by your arms, even comparing it to his own. While he was naturally strong, because of his powers, you had trained relentlessly for a year and it showed when your arms were bigger than his.

You chuckled at his amusement, before his eyes lit up, "Ah, Y/n you've missed out on so much- Come on," He grabs your arm, leading you inside the headquaters of the Justice League. You are stopped though when Damian grabs your arm that Jon didn't have. Jon looks back, wondering why you stopped when realizing Damian had grabbed you.

"Jon, why don't you head up. I just want to talk to Y/n."

Jon seems reluctant, but you turn to him, "I'll catch up. Promise."

He sighs, but ultimately goes up the stairs and inside the building.

"You look nice."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"That means a lot coming from you, you know?"

Damian avoids eye contact. He's worried that you might see all his emotions, feelings and thoughts. He didn't want you knowing his darkest thoughts. "Yeah.. Uh, Jon missed you a lot... Obviously. Um..." Damian had never been like this- Lost for words. He always knew what to say. He had everything calculated, but now... Well, he felt lost. He felt your stare on him, waiting for him to finish, but he felt his tongue felt twisted. "It's good to have you back."

"Yeah, well, it's good to be back. You know, I've missed you a lot... And Jon. I've missed you both a lot."

Damian finally looks at you. Your eyes bleeding into his own. For a moment it felt like you two were the only ones in the world. Everything else was just dark and all that was left was you. That was until another voice spoke.

"Y/n."

You both looked up to see your mother. She gestured for you to come inside and you looked back at Damian.

"Well, I guess that I have to go."

"Yeah... I'll see yah."

"Yeah... you will."

You rush up the stairs, trying to stop the blush from forming on your face. You were so embarrassed and felt like the conversation was stupid. You wished you could have done it differently, but it was Damian. You were sure he wasn't as pressed about it as you.

If only you knew how much your life was about to change forever- All thanks to teenage boys' puberty.

[canonicallyobserving911]

Buck & Eddie: Chris has been looking for Dad!Buck since the Tsunami

After 6x11 aired, I always thought the scene from Buck's coma dream with Chris asking Buck to help him find his DAD meant Chris was looking for Buck and I believe I can prove my theory with the scene that happened after the Tsunami.

While writing the next chapter in my multi-chapter fic titled “I’m still in love with you but... I needed to learn how to love myself too!”, I realized the scenes from 3x3 and 6x11 illustrated how Chris was in fact looking for Buck both times but Buck didn't understand.

In 3x3, the woman who had been carrying Christopher around all day after him and Buck got separated asked Eddie, "You're Buck?" to which he replied, "No, I'm his father Eddie." Then she said, "He was looking for Buck" and Eddie looked at Buck and Buck looked at Eddie🙃🤪.

Eddie is Christopher's BIOLOGICAL FATHER! It's a fact that will never change. Eddie called himself Chris' FATHER twice in that episode instead of calling himself Chris' dad. Chris calls Eddie "Dad" all the time, he even yelled "DAD!" when Eddie saw the woman carrying him and Eddie yelled "CHRISTOPHER!" in response. So why didn't Eddie identify himself as his dad instead of as his father? 🧐

Let's proceed.

Reminder at the end of 3x3, after Eddie brought Chris back to the loft, Buck said, "I was supposed to look out for him" and Eddie replied, "And what you think you failed? I've failed that kid more times than I care to count and I'm his FATHER but I love him enough to never stop trying and I know you do too. Buck! There's nobody in this world I trust with my son more than you!" He used the word FATHER again instead of saying DAD!

In 6x11, Buck's coma dream happened more than three and a half years later and Buck still believes his place in Chris' life as his second DAD/PARENT is not real. He said it himself, when Chris asked, "Can you help me find my DAD?" Buck replied, "Sorry but you're not real and I gotta go. I'm always going to feel sorry for that one".

Chris didn't ask Buck to help him find his father (EDDIE), he asked him to help him find his dad (BUCK) 🤪.

Even after the Tsunami, Chris running away to Buck's loft during the pandemic, the shooting, the will reveal, Eddie's breakdown and Chris asking Buck to come back after he was struck by lightning, Buck still didn't get it and he didn't SEE IT!

I stand by the comments I made in a post at the beginning of season 6 (linked here), both Eddie and Chris have been waiting for Buck but he's STILL TOO CONCERNED WITH THE WAY PEOPLE SEE HIM to understand it.

"Dead Bobby" told Buck in his coma dream that he hadn't learned a damn thing if he still cared about the way people see him. Well, he didn't learn anything since he's still trying to get people to like him. He wants Margaret and Phillip to like him the same way he wants all the women he dated to like him. Reminder, ND walked out and when she came back, she said, "I like you" and he said, "I like you too".

WTF was that supposed to be? 🙄

Buck's been trying to get people to like him his whole life and it started with his parents, especially his mother. Full disclosure I don't like TK but in 4x8, she told him "You just can't stand it when someone doesn't like you". She was right and he's doing it again with ND, making the same mistakes by trying to convince her to like him.

In 5x18, he told TK he didn't want to make the same mistakes well, he certainly made the same mistake again for the fourth time with someone else who likes one thing about him but not all of him.

Why didn't the show just let Buck admit he needed time to focus on himself instead of hooking up with another woman who doesn't know him? He'll never SEE the family he's been looking for is right in front of him if the show doesn't stop throwing RANDOM women at him.

It doesn't matter how ANYONE tries to spin his relationship with ND and make it into some big and fantastic romance because the truth is, IT'S NOT A ROMANCE, IT'S TOXIC. She was only interested in his DEATH and that's creepy AF. She was supposed to help him accept his death but instead she came back talking about she liked him which was no different from the way Dr. Wells treated him after he lost Devon in 1x2. They don't have some "Gone with the wind" or "Romeo and Juliet" type of love affair. It wasn't that; it still isn't that and it'll never be that unless the show forces the narrative to make it work.

If the narrative doesn't change, then Buck will suffer through yet another boring AF lackluster relationship with the fourth woman who only wanted to use him for his "Firehose" until she gets bored like the rest of them did. If he was meant to be with any of them, the relationships would have lasted instead of them running for the hills when his life got difficult. TK told him she wanted him in 4x14 which is just like ND saying she liked him in 6x18.

Eddie and Chris love Buck for who he is not for what he can give them but he's still ignoring the family who has been beside him this whole time for two trifling parents who only show him any attention when he's hurt along with all those women who like Buck the firefighter instead of Evan the "Good man".

What's it going to take for him to understand he's part of the Diaz Family and has been for years?

At this point, who knows but HOPEFULLY things will be different in season 7 or it'll be another wash, rinse and repeat season with Buck's love life and Eddie being sidelined until ND gets the boot like TK did in S5 which was EXHAUSTING AF to watch for a whole season!

[bombdiggity666]

Here Comes Judgement Day Pt.2

A few years ago, I attempted to draw a fan comic to resolve the ambiguous ending of the MTMTE/LL Comic series. I managed to complete one panel, but lost the other three when my computer crashed.

Now, after some time has passed, I feel encouraged to try again. This time, I've written a multi-part story to better guide my comic.

It's worth noting that when I began this project, I was feeling edgy, so it's all based on the song posted below

A Summary:

Megatron faces his impending execution in Garrus 9. As he reflects on his fate, Ultra Magnus grapples with his role as a witness. Through introspection and discussions with Rodimus, Ultra Magnus ultimately decides to attend the execution as Minimus Ambus, embracing his true self and honouring Megatron's last request. Tensions mount as the time draws near, with Rodimus struggling to cope as Megatron's death approaches.

Was he in a different room now? He couldn’t activate his optics, but the environment felt colder than before. Prickling static sensations danced across his arms and chest. Surprisingly, he could feel another medical program running behind the overbearing corruption code that idled in his systems menacingly. Luckily, its suffocating presence was still dulled by the sedative. This new program, he recognized, was a standard vitals systems check. A quick yet inhibited jolt of his right servo revealed a second medical cable jacked into his wrist port, this one far more comfortable. He huffed a vent to test his surroundings.

"Take Me Away"

Megatron regained consciousness quickly, or so it felt. His heavy-duty engines metabolized narcotics swiftly, especially when deprived—a function that had aided him through many of Starscream’s assassination attempts. As he searched for his chrono, the inability to gauge time reminded him of his current situation. Stirring slightly, he realized he was restrained once again, but this time in a far more exposed position. He lay on a different berth now, a surgical one with arm boards. The hum of the stasis restraints felt stronger; testing them, he found he couldn’t even lift a finger. ‘Do they think they're immobilizing a titan?’ he pondered loosely, his head still spinning with disorientation.

“I know you’re awake,” came a confirmation, not an irritated remark. The muffled voice, unmistakably from Evac, gave his ringing audio receptors something to focus on.

“What-” He was cut short with a static cough, his vocalizer rebooting as slowly as his optics.

“Shh, right here.” He felt a light servo’s touch on his right shoulder, more haunting than comforting.

“You were out of it; I brought you the rest of the way.” The servo ran down his arm, stopping at his wrist to fiddle with the connection.

Unable to respond in a civilized fashion, Megatron's engine subconsciously revved low and primitive in a threat display. The frequency resonated throughout his frame, communicating his irritation efficiently.

“Stop that. It was just me. No one saw. You got here all on your own.” Evac brushed off his display with a smack to his forearm, as if such behavior from him didn’t bring opponents in the pits shaking to their knees.

Where was here? His frustration grew.

“Okay, just let me…” He could hear typing, “There, try now.”

His optics onlined with the assistance of Evac’s manual start-up code. The room slowly cleared into focus. His revving engines stalled.

The execution chamber.

He was bound at a slight incline, his frame fully exposed to a viewing window where live witnesses would soon be sitting. The room had a solemn feel, nowhere near the clinical setting as before. A dull light lit the immediate area around them, but Megatron couldn’t spot the source, just glad that it wasn’t above him like an interrogation or operating room. He glanced to his left; the uncomfortable cable was still spooled and strapped to his wrist. A loose end hung ominously, but still unconnected to whatever equipment held the kill code.

“Hey,” Evac tried to pull his attention softly, using her servo to redirect his optics.

Megatron groggily gazed up at her. She must work with sparkling’s with how effectively she corrals his attention away from unpleasantries.

She sat near the right of his helm, monitoring the large screen exhibiting his vitals. The displays left nothing to the imagination: spark pulse, processor activity, fuel consumption ratios, all of it on display for the viewers. He doubted any of it was legitimate medical monitoring.

Looking past her smile to the screen, he could see a diagram of his own frame. It was spinning slowly, with certain pieces of his armor colored red. ‘Strange,’ he thought. All bots of Tarnish origin exhibited some degree of leucism, him being mostly affected with the exception of red pigmentation of his upper arm plating and abdominal vents. This model was wrong; he didn’t have red wrist or chest plating. In fact, he didn’t have wrist armor at all at the moment…

Oh.

No.

He gawked, stunned, as the realization of what he had seen washed over him. Evac noticed his expression changing.

“No no no, don’t-“

But her warning came too late. He dropped his helm in a lightning-quick reflex which should have been inhibited. He nearly threw Evac out of her seat as she attempted to grab his faceplates.

His Spark was exposed, pulsing and spinning fast, it bathed the room in an ebb of twisting light. His chest plating gone. Removed entirely. He was utterly exposed, freezing cold, and completely vulnerable. A touch could kill him right now.

He heard Evac speaking, though neither words nor tone registered. Distantly, he felt the medibot pulling at him, trying to get him to lay back down. Despite both physical and chemical restraints, she didn’t have hope in the Pits of moving him. The glare of his spark lit his reflection in the field of the viewing window, catching him by surprise. Barely recognizing himself as he had never before been forced to examine his appearance; especially in such a position. In the mines, mirrors were nonexistent. Any Pit mech who glanced at the monitors for even a nanosecond in the arenas where slaughtered. He never paid any mind with Autobot propaganda…

It wasn't until the Necro world, standing before the statue of his youth that he truly understood the monstrosity he had become. A cold calloused war monger, hungry for control and blinded by it.

But now? He looked frail. Bare. Weak. Yet, he was closer to his true self than he had been in millions of years.

The hardest part wasn’t seeing his exposed lifeforce or his restrained frame. The hardest part was staring into his own optics and finally seeing that once youthful face. The face that once held the resolve and determination for a better world. The naive slave from Tarn who had once foolishly thought he could change the world with his rhetoric. He couldn’t see the monster anywhere, and with the clarity of it, he felt the urge to apologize for failing them both. A bitter smirk pulled at the corner of his lips. ‘I know you wanted to change the world,’ he mused.

‘And you did,’ he recalled his session with Rung on the Lost Light. ‘But not for the better.’

“No,” he murmured. “But now…” his optics softened, losing focus on his reflection before offlining as he slowly rested his helm back against the berth. “For the better.”

Evac remained silent, unsure of what to say. Words seemed inadequate in the face of Megatron's internalized closure. He seemed to be coping well. She reached out and placed a servo firmly on his clavicle plating, messaging her thumb along the unnatural coolness of the metal beneath her touch. Megatron didn’t flinch, so they stayed like that for as long as they could, the weight of their shared silence hanging heavily in the air.

She glazed over at the chrono on the monitor before sighing lightly, leaning in close to whisper into his audio receptor.

“It’s time”

A bell sounded, stirring them from the peaceful silence.

---

Cycles blurred together after Rodimus’ final conversation with Megatron, the weight of sleeplessness pressing down on him like a relentless burden. Though he was well aware there was never going to be an out between the two verdicts, he clung to a faint hope for some kind of miracle. Megatron always seemed to conjure those when backed into a corner. Downing the rest of his engeX, he slammed the container down to join the mounting pile at his side.

The oil house was bustling tonight, everywhere was, streets, parks, fragging libraries were ablaze with hollering, singing, and dancing in celebration and anticipation for the viewing of Megatron’s execution. The enormous monitors, typically reserved for sporting or political broadcasts, stood ready, awaiting the live transmission of the ‘event’ from Garrus 9. Rumor had it that the council would likely declare this day a new Cybertronian holiday. 'Sick,' he thought, sarcasm thick on his glossa. He could fix that. He waved down the bartender, gesturing towards his empty pile of Engex containers, indicating his displeasure with a circling motion of his finger. 'Keep them coming,' he thought, not trusting his voice right now after his conversation with Minimus resulted in a good sob-fest out in the back alley. It was hard to maintain his composure in a bar full of retired Autobots and neutrals; being on the verge of black-out drunk was somewhat helpful, or so he thought.

The bartender placed a glass down in front of him with a concerned look. “You wanna slow down there, kid? The slagging screening hasn’t even started yet, and you’re 12 deep.”

Rodimus scoffed in indignation, his servo rising to his chest in offense. “I can count, my guy.” Dodged that one like a pro. The bartender rolled their optics as they whisked away, too busy to babysit a drunkard on a day like today.

He swirled the liquid in the glass, unsure of what else to look at. He was too drunk to hide all his feelings and fought to avoid catching optics with anybot. He really shouldn’t have come here today, but he thought being around others might help him through the process. That their excitement might rub off on him. A true extrovert at spark. Honestly, he just didn’t want to be alone…

A soft servo landed gently on his back. ‘Or maybe I did,’ he deliberated.

“You’re hard to find when you want to be found.”

Rodimus paused, processing the vague and confusing attempt at a pick-up before slamming his servos to the countertop of the bar, nearly spilling his Engex, and knocking several empties over. Hopefully this display was enough to dissuade any other onlookers from approaching; he wasn’t in the mood for flirtatious conversation right now, too drunk and distraught. Spinning around in his seat, he attempted to address this bold bot directly.

“Who would fragging be looking in the first pl-“ He was caught off guard immediately.

Drift stood behind him with a soft, sorrow-filled smile and a consuming presence of warmth. He didn’t move his servo from Rodimus’s back kibble; instead, he applied more comforting pressure, sprawling his fingers to cover more area. Rodimus continued to stare, confounded, his intake opening and closing as he chewed over words. He had not spoken to anyone in person since the sentencing, purposely isolating himself in his pain until his dumbfounding decision to be here today. He had specifically hidden from Drift, as he didn’t think he would be able to understand his conflicting emotions over Megatron’s Verdict. He shrunk in on himself suddenly, and after a moment, he managed a shaky question.

“…Minimus?”

“Ratted you out, yes,” Drift soothed, moving to sit in the seat next to Rodimus’s hunched frame, nonchalantly pushing the empty Engex containers off the bar with his forearm, earning a scathing glare from the bartender across the counter. He seethed back with equal intensity momentarily, enough of a threat to make the bartender turn on his heels.

Rodimus stared down at his drink, optics spacing out in broken thought. “You didn’t…” he quickly brought the glass to his intake to shoot it down, conversation was difficult. “You don’t need to-”

“Yes, I do.” Drift hushed assertively, placing a servo over the glass of Engex Rodimus was preparing to down, easing it back to the countertop with little convincing.

Rodimus looked at him from the corner of his optics, unwilling to turn his whole body. A prickle of shame sprouted somewhere distantly in his mind, which was silly; Drift had definitely seen him in much more embarrassing states. However, being in such a drunk grief over a bot who murdered little over half the known galaxy, including himself at least once, probably came pretty close to ‘taking the cake’. Drift was Ex-Decepticon, he likely knew the spell Megatron casts on ones psyche. When their goals aligned, that is.

“We are still a team, you know,” Drift lightly shoulder checked him in camaraderie, hoping to capture Rodimus' full attention. It didn’t work, so he persisted. “Even without the Lost Light. Without a mission, without an adventure, I’m still on your team. Whatever happens today, tomorrow, cycles from now, I’m going to be on your team.”

A flicker of a grin flashed on Rodimus’s faceplates as he offlined his optics. After a moment, he scrunched his facial plates and dropped his helm to the bar counter with a resounding thunk. Drift looked up apologetically to the patrons it may have startled. After throwing his whole arm across Rodimus’s shoulders as he pulled himself closer and leaned into his audio receptor. “And teams are stronger together,” he said, placing his hand over Rodimus’s, squeezing it in a grounding manner. “So we are going to do this together, understand?”

A snort, or perhaps a strangled sob from Rodimus, was muffled by the metal of the counter, his shoulders jerking, concealed from onlookers by Drift’s supporting arm.

“…Thank you,” Rodimus murmured, rolling his head slightly towards Drift. “You're too good to me.”

-----

From across the oil house in a darkened hallway, Ratchet stood leaned against the wall as he watched Drift console the hot mess of his former captain. There on 'standby', he had no intentions of taking part in today's celebrations. Not that he didn’t agree with it, just done with the war and all of the remnants of it. To see a society so excitable over the death of another bot filled him further with pessimistic bitterness. To him, it was just another bot dying for nothing. No progress would be made of it.

Despite his bitter nihilism, Ratchet cared deeply for a select few and how this would affect them. Drift predominantly, and if Drift was worried about Rodimus, well then he was worried about Rodimus too.

There was a buzz of static and a flash of light which blared from the monitors, resulting in an uproar from the crowds gathered in both the oil house and throughout the streets. Bots flooded in closer to the screens as the voice of a council orator began to speak.

Ratchet cursed, swinging his head away in disdain. He had no interest in watching this garbage today; he had seen enough death in his lifetime, so watching a screening of it on his free-time would be absurd. He glanced back to where Drift was consoling Rodimus. His cold spark pinged slightly at the state of him. Such an impressionable bot, getting so unhealthily attached to anything that remotely resembled a parental figure. Disgusting that Megatron was ever given the chance in the first place. Optimus set the poor kid up to hurt before promptly dying there after. Idiot.

He looked back again towards the monitor, following Rodimus’ saucer-optics stare to find Megatron, restrained with spark exposed. He was slightly taken aback by it. He never imagined a day where he would see Megatron so tolerant of such ministrations to his frame. Than again, he never anticipated seeing the day Megatron renounced Decepticonism either. As a doctor, such imagery had little effect on him, he’d seen bots in such position of vulnerability millions of times; However, for Rodimus, it was likely quite distressing. ‘For the love of Primus,’ he thought, as if his scolding thoughts could reach Megatron’s processor. ‘Don’t you dare make this any worse for Rodimus.’

-----

The resonating ting of his pattering steps down the metal corridor was comically light. Minimus pressed on with speed and purpose, his frame devoid of Magnus armor now, though it wouldn't matter; they already had his spark signature on file. He marched towards the witness hall, attempting to subdue the pit in his tanks with a false air of superiority. Passing two guards, who stared for far too long with dumbfounded expressions, he noticed their perplexed glances shifting between him and their scanner before they yelled out after him.

“Hey, you! State your role and purpose-”

“That would be 'Excuse me, Sir'!” he chastised, spinning around aggressively.

Approaching him somewhat cautiously, the guards looked down at their spark scanner while also placing servos on their weapons. “These scanners are saying that you are Ultra Mag-“

“That is because I AM Ultra Magnus,” he declared, his servos landing on his hips as he leaned forward in a posturing position. “And you are keeping me from my assigned role as a witness to the execution. Which I better not miss.”

The two guards exchanged confused glances. One of them pressed a finger to their audial, undoubtedly sending out a com. Minimus realized this was not going to be as simple as he thought.

“Forgive us, uh, sir?” One of the guards began, patronizingly. “But you are going to need to step aside and-”

“WHAT?” Minimus roared, holding out his identifier tag now. “Two spark scans and an identifier code, and you still don’t accept-“

“You don’t look anything like Ultra Magnus,” one guard interrupted, moving around Minimus to box him in.

“Yeah,” the other guard accused bluntly. “You’re looking more like a Decepticon minibot to me.” He reached down quickly, snatching Minimus’s upper arm with a powerful jerk.

Really?! How astoundingly racist. Were his red optics enough to be considered a Decepticon? Three authentication procedures be damned?

“Release me this instant! This is a major violation under- URK!” A fist smashed into his left faceplate, sending him whirling to the floor, his frame skipping twice off the metal.

“Shut up, a MAJOR violation would be impersonating a senior officer. Pick him up.”

Dazed from the hit, Minimus struggled to prop himself up, his servo lifting to his olfactory sensors only to come away bloodied in fresh energon. Distantly, he heard a bell ringing, and with stark realization, he knew that it was the start of the Execution screening. He only had minutes now.

“No,” he coughed, attempting to move towards the noise. Rough servos clasped his shoulder plating hard enough to dent the metal, lifting him clean off the ground. “You’re making a mis-“ a punch to his abdominal plating had him keeled over, peds not even touching the floor.

“Let’s get him out of here quick, I wanna watch that fragger die in real-time,” one guard murmured to the other, dragging Minimus in the opposite direction of the Witness room.

“No… wait,” he pleaded weakly, unable to catch a vent as his bent fans kept stalling.

“At ease!” An approaching voice hollered from behind them. The two guards stopped immediately, standing tall and leaving Minimus dangling in the air, fans clicking and vents hitching. He knew that voice…

“What is all of this about, soldier? Explain.”

The smarter of the two began, stuttering over their words at first. “Sir! We found this Decepticon trying to infiltrate the witness hall, claiming to be Ultra Magnus, Sir!”

“Ultra Magnus, huh?” the voice began to round on him with the speaker almost in his line of view. “Definitely doesn’t seem to fit the build, now does he?” The bot stepped in front of him. Minimus cowered slightly. Prowl. He and Prowl haven’t exactly been seeing ‘optic to optic’ as of late. Their relationship had soured further with Minimus’ appointment to Megatron’s case. Now would be a perfect time for Prowl to do what he does best. Act out about it.

“…Prowl...please,” he wheezed.

“Would we know each other, little bot?” Prowl teased while leaning down, olfactory sensors remaining high and mighty. He smirked. Minimus's spark sank.

“I- I know we have never agreed on methods, Prowl,” he started, his voice still shaky. “I-”

“-Was just going to stroll into a live broadcast and shatter the legend for everyone on Cybertron, and on such a joyous, sought-after day? All to make your best friend happy? How incredibly selfish, Minimus,” Prowl spat venomously in a mocking sneer, leaning in close to minimize what his underlings heard.

“Magnus, the Armor, I’m done with it. Through,” Minimus continued, hissing through dentae at the effort. ”After today, we can go our separate ways.”

“I think we can do that right now, actually,” Prowl smirked, standing to his full height. “Brig this Decepticon sympathizer, I’ll deal with him after the show,” he ordered the two guards before turning back to the execution chamber. “I don’t want to miss Megatron’s face when he realizes you’re not coming.”

“NO, PROWL,” Minimus thrashed, kicking but unable to land anything substantial. No longer having might on his side, he had to think. He had to think of something fast. What would work on someone as cynical, calculating, and arrogant as Prowl?

Blackmail.

“Overlord!” Minimus shouted, craning his neck back towards the direction Prowl was walking. He stopped abruptly. Listening.

*I am aware of your involvement with the release of Overlord, Who is still out there! Don’t you think for a second that anyone has forgotten* Minimus commed, the blackmail would fall short if others listen in.

 *As I recall, your crew played an unmistakable role in that…Mishap* Prowl didn’t move, back stiff. Calculating.

*Under your direction, discretion, and trusted advisement. Overlord was a prisoner assigned to you and you foremost.* Minimus bit back, he was getting further and further away. He could hear the orator beginning to read out the jury’s sentencing.

*And?* Prowl spat back, turning his head to glance, a sliver of blue shining from his silhouette.

*Nobody needs to know* There was no reply. Minimus panicked briefly, knowing any further discussion or clarification would ruin the offer. He just needed Prowl to take the hook.

“Drop him,” Prowl commanded to his bots after careful consideration. Mimimus hit the ground hard, crumpling to his knees. He could hear Prowl approaching quickly. “Dismissed,” he hissed with a wave of his servo. The guards nodded, continuing their march down the hall. Before he could rise, a ped slammed into the crease of his back painfully, pinning him back down into a crouched position.

“You’re going to go in there, make googly optics at your genocidal BFF, watch him die, and then I am never going to see you again. Do you understand?” Prowl leaned down to whisper the threat directly into Minimus’ audio receptors.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way…” Minimus grunted, shrugging Prowl’s ped off his back. A rag fell to the floor in front of his face.

“You tripped on your way here, smashed your face into the bulkhead. You needed a minute to look presentable. That is why we are late,” Prowl hummed as he walked away.

Minimus took the rag, dabbing the drying energon from his faceplates as he rose shakingly to his peds. Perhaps he was a Decepticon sympathizer, he thought as he began to limp after Prowl’s steady steps.  Never has he ever thought so lowly of the Autobot peacetime they had created.

[moosekateer13]

Look What You Made Me Do

Sequel to Your Sympathy

Former! Sam Winchester x Reader

Warnings: Mention of Breakup, Lovers to Enemies, Angst, Unrequited Love, Fluff

Summary: After realizing her boyfriend, Sam would never change his ways. Y/N does the smart thing she leaves. She's built a wonderful life for herself and her daughter Theresa. Y/N went to Stanford and now owns a law firm. 5 years have passed since that fateful day. Now her past comes knocking.

Inspired by Taylor Swift’s Look What You Made Me Do

But I got smarter, I got harder in the nick of time. Honey, I rose up from the dead; I do it all the time. I got a list of names, and yours is in red, underlined I check it once, then I check it twice. Oh! Ooh, look what you made me do. Look what you made me do.

It's been 5 years since I left Sam Winchester, who I thought was the love of my life. I knew he wouldn't change, so I did what was best for me and our daughter. Theresa Samantha Winchester, even though he and I were never married. I still wanted her to carry part of him. Does she ask who her dad is? Yeah, she's starting to. I've only told her he just can't be here, and that he loves her. I feel guilty for lying to her, but I can't tell her the truth. She's too young to understand. I'll tell T when she's older.

I’ve become emotionally stronger since then too. I always do what’s best in the long run. We've built a wonderful life here in Vegas. I studied family law at Stanford University remotely and recently opened a law firm. We specialize in custody cases. Inspired, of course, by the situation with Sam, custody cases.

I've finally had some time off, so of course I'm spending time with T. Hearing her giggle as I chase around the yard puts a smile on my face. It feels good to have a week off and spend some time out this summer. T really loves summer because she can wear dresses. They look adorable on her. I have to admit it’s nice to get out of my business clothes and into casual wear for once.

I feel a looming presence watching us. It makes my blood run cold when I see who it is, Sam. He looks angry as hell like he wants to rip my head off. I whisper in my daughter's ear to go into the house. She doesn't need to see this. Sam closes the gap between us. Even though I hate to admit he still looks as good as the last time I’ve seen him. Even if he’s angry at me.

“So this is where you ran off to. I've been looking for you for 5 years. You gave me no forwarding address, just a quote. She's mine, isn't she? How dare you take her from me?” Sam growled.

She looks exactly like him. Those multi-spectrum hazel eyes are a unique trait. So he knows she definitely is his.

“Well, Mr. Perfectly Fine, you never wanted to commit. You even fucking kept our relationship a secret. So don't come yelling at me. I did what was best for her and me.” I retorted.

Sam pulls me towards him and roughly kisses me. I kick him in the balls and he releases me.

“I'm not yours and I never will be again. Go away.” I snarled. I hear a familiar set of tires pull up. My husband rushes over to me.

"Y/N are you okay Resa called me saying someone showed up at our house. She sounded scared, so I rushed home.”

Morgan’s got a worried look all over his handsome face. His brown eyes scan over me to make sure I’m not hurt.

"I'm fine dearest I've got this Sam was just leaving," I replied.

A flash of relief washes over his face.

It looks like the colour has drained from Sam's face. He's a dead ringer for his late father John. Everyone has a twin and Morgan is his. Morgan and I met when I had to travel to Stanford for an exam. Like me, he was a hunter who got out of the life. He did all the standard hunter checks in front of me before we started dating.

I didn't even realize he looked like him until T called him grandpa. Since I still keep one picture on my desk. I've never hid from her who her family is. I told her the truth though he wasn’t. Morgan just looked like him. He’s also a lot younger than him but still older than me. Morgan is 5 years older than me. He and I have been married for a year. It was love at first sight. We were together 6 months before he proposed. So we’ve been together for nearly two years. It didn’t take long for T to get attached to him. She’s grown to love him. It’s strange though she’s never called him dad though just M.

I leave Sam standing there not saying another word. I have nothing left to say to him. I don’t care if he’s heartbroken. I am not his anymore he needs to realize that. We’ve got a life here that I love. I’ve got a family that I’ve always wanted. If he thinks I’m going to leave Morgan, he’s kidding himself. I truly love Morgan. From the moment we met, I knew he was the love of my life. I'll always be grateful for the one good thing that came out of my relationship with Sam, Theresa. As for my relationship with Sam I have no interest in getting it back.

I'm sorry

But the old Y/N can't come to the phone right now

Why? Oh, 'cause she's dead (oh)

[mercurygray]

Fic writer interview

Thank you to @hesbuckcompton-baby for the tag!!

How many works do you have on AO3? 102, but I only started posting there in 2014. There is more fic dating back much farther on my ff.net account.

What’s your total AO3 word count? 1,035,887

What are your top 5 fics by kudos? The Darkening Sky - Band of Brothers She dealt her pretty words like blades - Little Women (2019) Waited for and Wanted - House of the Dragon More than a Team - Band of Brothers At Home, Alone - Prodigal Son

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? I do! The way I figure, you've taken the time to write me something (and not everyone does) and the least I can do is say thank you, and maybe weigh in with some extra piece of lore or process.

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending? I never finished writing this ending, but one of my TURN fics, La Fille du Regiment, was going to end with my character Margaret Frances running away from the character who was in love with her. They met in the middle of a war, and he was married, and she just wasn't convinced that it was ever going to work in her favor. So she ran away, and quickly married someone else who'd expressed interest earlier in the story. (There was also the small matter of her getting pregnant, which changed the time-table some.) Margaret was going to meet her love interest again some thirty years later and have him realize that the man with her is, in fact, his son, whom he'd never known about.

What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending? A Rose Among the Briars is my big LOTR fic and I think really does have the happiest ending - Boromir doesn't die, gets married to a lovely woman, has kids, and lives happily ever after.

Do you write crossovers? I am a multi-verse madwoman. I love crossovers.

Have you ever received hate on a fic? YES. A Rose Among the Briars got some fun comments back in the day, including one particularly memorable comment from a woman who lambasted me for writing an OC who was younger than Boromir because 'he wouldn't go for that'.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind? When the mood strikes me! I've written a lot of M/F smut and a tiny taster of M/M/F throuple things.

Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not that I'm aware of?

Have you ever had a fic translated? Yes, I have! A Rose Among the Briars was translated into French (at least partially) by someone who just loved the story.

Have you ever co-written a fic before? I have! I used to do a lot of tag-team writing via instant messenger with several friends - they'd write a line, and you'd write a line back. It was a really, really interesting way to write and it sent scenes in very different and fun directions. Stopping to clarify things, or ask where they wanted something to go was really instructive.

What’s your all-time favorite ship? I think in terms of the volume of fic I wrote for them, my favorite ship has to be Emma Green and Henry Hopkins, from Mercy Street. I just really liked their character dynamic - he was the chaplain at a military hospital, trying to wrestle with past mistakes and what his role was in a war where he wasn't carrying a gun, and she was the privledged daughter of a wealthy slaveholder trying to find her place in a world that was changing all around her. Both of them had these really meaty moral storylines and there was just a lot of opportunity for poetry and scripture and longing glances and forbidden love and it was just really, really good.

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will? I have this throuple thing I started writing for MOTA that will probably never see the light of day.

What are your writing strengths? People have told me recently that they really like my dialogue, and my ability to really capture canon character voices as true to form. I was also told I have an uncanny ability to introduce people and immediately make you care about them, which I'm pretty proud of.

What are your writing weaknesses? Keeping things short.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic? I actually kind of like it! I speak a little bit of French, and some Italian, but I always try to check with a native speaker if I'm adding whole lines in a different language.

What was the first fandom you wrote for? Lord of the Rings. And that fic is still on ff.net if you want to go read it. I keep it there to keep me humble.

What’s a fandom/ship you haven’t written for yet but want to? I honestly can't think of one! Because I do so much shorter format stuff here on my tumblr, if I have an idea it usually ends up getting written!

What’s your favourite fic you’ve written? I am the most proud of The Darkening Sky. It was a three and a half year labor of love and far and away the most 'successful' thing I've ever written, but I gained so many new friends and people who just really loved the characters I created and I actually finished it! I'm notorious for not finishing big projects.

Tagging @mads-weasley, @latibvles, @basilone, @softguarnere, @softspeirs, @noneedtoamputate and anyone else who's writing fic for Masters of the Air right now!

[mythandlaur]

5. Which WIP is first on your list to complete this year? Will you post a snippet? | 18. Do you typically post multi-chapters as you write, or finish it all and then start posting? Would you like to change your posting method?

New Year's Fanfic Asks

18. Do you typically post multi-chapters as you write, or finish it all and then start posting? Would you like to change your posting method?

On the rare occasions I've tried to write things longer than (sometimes particularly long) oneshots, I've posted as I've written...and I've never managed to actually finish a single fic. This has led to many actually abandoned or "I'll get to it someday maybe"-abandoned WIPs out there and the guilt's decidedly starting to pile up, so yes, I would like to change it. The things I've been writing recently I've been trying to finish before I start posting...but I'm also having trouble finishing those so I'm not sure it's helping, exactly, it's just added the additional "I want to share this so bad" feeling on top of it. I'll get back to you on that when I do manage to finish something and post it all. Which leads to...

5. Which WIP is first on your list to complete this year? Will you post a snippet?

(Given you chose these two questions to send together I imagine you might've been expecting this answer, that or I just really want an excuse to talk about it. Which part of the whole reason I reblogged this in the first place was to have an excuse to talk about my stuff so thanks.)

There are several Shovel Knight oneshots I worked on more recently that I probably should feel more strongly about finishing sooner, but the one most urgent in my mind is the one you know about that I've been sitting on for over a year and wrote 8k words for in one day.

Front Lines [Code Lyoko] - An attempt to make up for a social misstep leads to disaster as Aelita and Jeremie find themselves on Lyoko with an activated tower and no one on Earth who knows they've gone. As pressure mounts, they decide to take matters into their own hands, but they're quickly running out of time--and not in the way they think they are...

Basically I have the whole thing planned and mostly written, but it's been so long since I started writing it and the draft's so messy I worry I should rewrite everything to meet my current standards. That and there's still a couple of fight scenes that need to get done and I have a really hard time writing those. Here's a bit I can share without really spoiling anything.

Aelita steps fully into the room, closing the door behind her. Jeremie raises an eyebrow and rolls his chair slightly closer to her—something about Lyoko, then?

Aelita’s face pinches with worry. “I’ve been thinking about what you said at lunch.”

Jeremie’s smile drops. He glances off to the side as if his closet doors have suddenly become interesting. “Yeah, what about it?”

Aelita frowns, taking a step towards him with her hands on her hips. He knows the look well.

“Would you really rather be possessed by XANA again than go to Lyoko?”

Jeremie winces, pulling both of his legs up to sit in an awkward-looking butterfly position on his office chair and grabbing at his feet. He still doesn’t look at her, but he can feel her eyes burning into his head.

“...No,” he admits, “I’m not that stupid. I can’t afford to be compromised like that again.” And he doesn’t particularly feel like going through it again, either.

When he finally manages to meet her eyes, her lips are pursed in an expression he can’t quite read. “Then why did you lie?”

Jeremie scowls. “You heard Odd, he wouldn’t leave me alone. Imagine how bad it’d be if he knew I was going.”

“So you have been going!”

Jeremie realizes he may have made a mistake in saying that, but he’d long since figured out lying to her is an exercise in futility no matter how experienced he gets at it. “Yeah, I’ve been going. Not for very long—I have the computer set to run devirtualization after one minute. If I could get away with not sending my data to Lyoko at all, I would, but...I haven’t figured out what causes the resistance to XANA’s influence yet, so I can’t take any chances.”

“And you haven’t told anyone?”

“They’d insist on coming with me or training me or something, and the last time the three of us went, three megatanks showed up. If they got devirtualized with me, that’d be another opportunity for XANA to attack while they were recovering.”

“And you’re embarrassed.”

Jeremie grabs his desk and turns his chair back towards it so she can’t see his face. “You heard them, I look ridiculous. I don’t want to make myself look like even more of an idiot.”

Aelita huffs, grabbing the back of Jeremie’s chair and spinning him around to look at her. She keeps hold of the chair arms to keep him from turning away again, glaring into his eyes with her jaw set.

“When’s the next time you plan on going?”

Jeremie swallows hard, his stomach dropping. It doesn’t take a genius to see where she’s going with this. “...Sometime this week. Aelita—”

“You’re right about one thing, I’m not letting you go alone.” Aelita leans away and crosses her arms. “We’re going. Both of us. Today.”

“And that’s definitely because you’re worried about me and not just curious about how dumb I look?” Aelita winces, and Jeremie realizes he's talked before thinking again. He'd been trying to work on that. “...Sorry.”

“It’s not not because I’m curious, I admit.” Her tone grows pained. “But I’m also worried. What if your devirtualization program doesn’t work? Or XANA’s monsters get to you first? I just don’t like the idea of you doing something like this all by yourself.”

“Aelita...”

Her voice softens, and though she smirks at him, her eyes are earnest. “You’ve always been protective of me. Now it’s my turn to worry about you.”

Jeremie feels his face heating up. Of course, she has every right to worry—the thought of doing this frankly still scares him half to death. It would be nice to have someone looking out for him...and besides, if he doesn’t do it now, he might very well put it off as long as he can get away with it. Potentially longer than he can get away with it.

“...And you promise you won’t laugh at me.”

Aelita puts a hand over her heart, solemn. “I promise.”

Jeremie sighs, rubbing his elbow with the opposite hand. “Okay. Clearly I’m not getting out of this.”

“No, you’re not.”

“Just give me a few minutes to get ready.” And get up the nerve.

[theonethatyaks93]

Character/Plot Notes for Upcoming Dark Pinky x Future Brain Fanfiction (+ a Preview!) (Also, Happy Dark Pinky Thursday!)

Hello everyone!! This is kind of new territory for me, but I'm excited to announce that my very first Dark Pinky x Future Brain fanfiction is currently in the works! And it's not just one fanfiction; it's an entire series that establishes my own universe. I've had this idea for a while, but after looking at the askdarkpinky blog and reading an unhealthy number of Dark Pinky fanfiction, I finally decided to put my concept to writing. I consider this to be a passion project of mine. It has changed quite a bit over the past few months, however, the core idea is still present: establish a Dark Pinky and Future Brain world and write an angsty, dark, and melancholy continuous story. The series will be titled Dark Future, and each separate fanfic will either be a one-shot or a multi-chapter. Some of these fics might even take on a different style such as first-person perspective or alternate/side characters getting the spotlight. I've only posted one fanfiction on AO3 before which is titled When He Loved Me (go check it out, but it's not the best as it was my first work). This will be better executed since I've been planning for longer. I usually do this kind of character analysis/plot analysis in privacy, so I can remember personalities and story beats while I work. Since this is a larger project and that it involves a few characters whom I've never worked with before, I wanted to post this publicly to gain feedback from you guys and to show everyone my ideas. Just a quick note; the preview will not reveal any major spoilers I have planned or character moments aside from setting up the plot. It's also very long and you don't have to read it. Also, this will be rated T for dark themes, light violence/implied violence, and some gore, albeit it's very brief and not graphic. Alright, let's begin!

Plot-Here's a basic, still in development, plot description for the entire series:

After a massive falling out, Future Brain abandons his former husband, Dark Pinky, and runs away to live a life of seclusion alongside his former adversary turned-friend, Julia. Dark Pinky spends years searching for his estranged partner, eventually seeking the help of the beautiful Billie to aid in his pursuit. Unfortunately, after Future Brain comes to a horrifying realization that his husband may cause the world to dissolve into disarray and ruin, he sets off to try and rekindle his relationship with Pinky. Meanwhile, Dark Pinky continues to attempt to find Brain in secret, while continuing to put up a threatening image in the public eye. However, an old foe is plotting to seek revenge on his mortal enemies once and for all. Dark Pinky and Future Brain must attempt to rebuild their rapport in order to gain back control of the world and to realize that certain past mistakes need to be fixed.

There are a lot more elements to this premise than what I've put here, including complex characters, side plots, and fanfictions entirely dedicated to the villains. This universe has a kind of grim origin story that I came up with back in late 2021. Here's a bit from the currently in progress first draft of the very start to this universe:

"The plan has been very dangerous, yet it succeeded with flying colors. The world was theirs in an instant. With one swift attack, the military was abolished, and the world leaders surrendered each country they had dominance over. Bloody corpses lined the streets in the days following, leaving the people of the planet in anguish. It was almost surreal how everything had panned out in the end. And at first, he was satisfied and had convinced himself that he was making Earth a better place for all. However, after the construction of their palace was completed and after the hundreds of private and public executions commanded by him were carried out, the ever-present feeling of dread began to take him day after day. Future Brain had convinced himself countless times that he was happy; though now, it was an almost impossible feat. These feelings of sorrow and shame wouldn’t go away, no matter how hard he tried."

A part that wasn't mentioned here that I want to say is that Dark Pinky and Future Brain didn't start off like this. The reason why they look so maniacal and off-putting is that it's a result of Brain's actions to world domination (to be discussed in an origin story). His plans become increasingly more dangerous as time passes, with him and Pinky receiving more serious injuries. Eventually, this constant barrage of pain, plus an electrical shock, causes Pinky's mind to deteriorate until he becomes Dark Pinky. He's now hyper-focused on world domination and Brain decides that taking a more violent path is the key to their success. Going by Future Brain, he and Dark Pinky launch a brutal attack on the world, causing it to fall into their grasp. But while Dark Pinky loves his new life as a ruler, Future Brain shows quite a bit of regret for his previous actions. This point of Brain hating the world he and Pinky have made is a massive plot point and it's what causes most of the tension in the series. There will be a lot of conflict between Dark Pinky and Future Brain, as they bicker over their different viewpoints. Brain is going to be very hard on himself here as he blames his actions for Pinky being changed. This is one of the reasons why he leaves Dark Pinky behind to live a life of seclusion. There will be a few references to episodes from the spin-off series since this universe takes place after the events of the 1995 show. Since this is an alternate universe, there will be very few or no references to the Animaniacs reboot considering this takes place during that time period.

Characters- There are quite a few recognizable faces here from other Dark Pinky x Future Brain universes, but there are also some new characters that are going to be incorporated. The list below only features the main characters or the ones that get more focus; some others will be getting mentioned or will have a brief cameo. The characters with significance include Dark Pinky, Future Brain, Snowball, Julia, Billie, Egwind and Romy. Their designs are either inspired by the designs from the askdarkpinky blog or are my own original creations. Some of their personalities have been altered such as an unusual character being made a major antagonist or Julia being Brain's closest confidant.

Locations- These are just a few ideas I had for possible major locations of the series:

Dark Pinky and Future Brain's Castle- The primary destination of the entire work, this palace is inspired by the look from the askdarkpinky blog, though it's a little larger. It's located in Washington D.C on the ruins of the White House. It's massive and features lots of rooms, a throne room, spaces for the soldiers, dungeons, and even a library/study room.

Acme Labs- Shuttered after Dark Pinky and Future Brain took over, the lab is abandoned and desolate. Access is restricted for anyone aside from officials. This also is the hideout for Future Brain after his escape from Dark Pinky since his personal living space is located in the basement. Julia resides here also. Brain uses Julia's technology to spy on Dark Pinky's location to avoid getting caught.

Snowball's Fortress- Hidden in the woods, Snowball has created a home for himself after Acme Labs' closure. Here, he spies on Dark Pinky and Future Brain, creating devious schemes to take the world from them. It's not very large, but it has a space where Snowball can create his inventions and an advanced system of computers for watching over Dark Pinky and Future Brain.

Preview- This is a little idea of what is going to happen in this series. This comes from the first fanfiction in the series "Darkness" and it's the ending from that fanfic. Here's a little snippet of the first draft (It's not that little, though. 2000+ words?! This isn't even the entire fic and it's almost longer than my previous work! Yeesh!):

Despite the thunderous chaos that occurred during the day, the castle was quite peaceful at night. Most of the soldiers, aside from the ones on a night shift, had dissipated into the inky blackness of midnight to rest away. The servants that didn’t tend to their mouse overlords’ evening needs slept quietly in their personal quarters without a second thought. And even the ones still awake tried their best to stay as quiet as possible, since Dark Pinky’s temper tended to flare immensely in later hours and that would mean Future Brain would get angry, too. Being on the receiving end of their rage was nothing to cough at; your life was basically in jeopardy if you were to wrong them. Most servants, however, drifted off around 11:30, despite being informed not to do so. All seemed quiet and serene.

The last of the butlers, who carried delicacies on the finest plates, had settled in at around 12:30, when quite suddenly, a bloodcurdling scream echoed through the halls, followed by the sound of shattering glass. Servants, maids, and the night guards nearly leaped from their posts precisely at the time the loud noises occurred and rushed to aid in whatever was going on. Many people were in their nightwear, rubbing sleep from their eyes.

The entourage of associates arrived at Dark Pinky and Future Brain’s room in only a matter of seconds. A soldier rapped on the door in a panic, hoping that all was well. “Your Highnesses is everything alright?” he questioned once, then again, then again. No response. Panic began to settle in with the group; had their rulers been taken? Luckily, the door was unlocked, which was unusual. Though they were told to avoid entering the room without knocking, at this point, there was no other choice.

The servants, guards, and maids filed into the room via the human-sized door. They were met with a confusing albeit disturbing sight. Dark Pinky was kneeling on the floor in only his plush purple robe, back facing away from everyone. Only a single lamp lit the room, hazy shadows lingering everywhere. Pieces of shattered glass surrounded the mouse, though it seemed like he didn’t care or notice. His paws seemed to be against his chest as if he were holding something precious. The only sound in the room was heavy breathing. Very heavy breathing.

“Uhm, are you okay, sir?” one of the servants spoke up, doing his best as to not upset his leader.

A chuckle was the response to that question, followed by a light gasp. “He’s gone.” Dark Pinky murmured discreetly. “He’s gone.”

The night guards eyed each other, the perplexity rising. “Who’s gone?” a soldier in the back of the group asked.

“He’s gone.” A breathy sob emerged from the mouse as he un-cupped a paw and pointed it towards his bed. Surely enough, no one was there. “Brain’s not here.”

Even more glances occurred between the people in the room. Usually when this happened, it wasn’t anything to get distraught about. What was so different now? One of the servants stepped forward in a tentative attempt to get more information.

“Your Excellence, I’m certain that if we just sent out the guards, we’d find you husband somewhere in the castle…”

“HE’S NOT HERE!!!” Pinky roared, abruptly standing up and turning to face the cluster. His eyes were bloodshot, and his cheeks were matted and damp from what looked like tears. He kept his paws close to his middle despite all the thrashing.

“Sir, are you convinced that Brain has vanished completely? He might just be in the kitchen or in his study room or-”

“I can assure you that he’s left the castle! I know! I know everything! I read his mind!” That was a lie. Brain had already been gone by the time he’d awoken to get a drink.

“But are you sure…”

“BRAIN’S GONE YOU IDIOT!!! I’M POSITIVE, STOP DOUBTING ME!! NARF!!!” Dark Pinky yelled, though it came off as more of a moan as his voice cracked.

The group of servants and soldiers moved closer together at their ruler’s sudden outburst. Some cowered in fear. One guard pushed himself out of the huddle, quivering in his purple uniform. “If you are sure that Brain has departed the perimeter, what can we do to assist you in his return?”

Pinky froze for a moment before letting out a snarl. His shoulders slumped as he stared at the ground below his feet. “Find him.” His mouth twitched. “Search everything and everywhere. Leave nothing untouched. Go to every corner of this miserable planet if you must. If he thinks that he can escape me, I think he’s more stupid than what he lets on.”

The soldiers nodded and departed the room to instruct their colleagues about the situation. The rumble of their boots quavered through the entire palace, yet Pinky still didn’t look up. Only the servants and maids remained standing in the doorway.

“As for the rest of you,” Pinky finally raised his head from facing the floor, staring at the miserable helps. He briefly read their puny little terrified minds full of concern. He liked the fear he instilled in them; it was comforting. “You are to scour the castle and look for any hints at where Brain might’ve gone. Check the security cameras, look at locks and see if they’ve been picked. Do anything you can to get a better idea of where he is. Fail me, and the dungeon will be your new home. Understand?”

The servants nodded, still shivering ever so slightly. They bolted out of the room at a rapid pace, setting off to track down the security footage and investigate the locks. Their jobs depended on finding these answers.

He didn’t move until the door slammed shut. He didn’t say a word. He eventually turned away to face the balcony, the dark blue atmosphere painting everything in unsettling colors. Usually, midnight was Pinky’s favorite time of the day, since the world seemed to stand still, and all the hustle simply faded into nothingness. Now, it just seemed bleak, unrelenting, even sinister. It did fit the persona he’d made for himself over the years, but something seemed twisted. For the first time in a while, Dark Pinky felt…uncertain about what was to come. Brain was gone. The mouse he loved most was gone. He let the moment sink in, bearing its claws to slash at his insides, turning his mind to mush.

The next few moments were made of pure silence. Pinky’s heart hammered against his chest, each beat causing him to feel weaker and weaker. The faint hum of servants’ thoughts trickled away until waning completely. Not even the sound of a familiar voice approaching was enough to pull him from his mute state.

“Dinky? Dinky, where are you?”

Billie.

“Julia’s run away. I don’t know where she went. Do ya know anything about where she went? I’m scared for her! Dinky? Please answer me!”

She sounded so desperate, so confused, so upset. Her thoughts were very scattered and shrill. Pinky winced as they entered his mind. It was like nails on a chalkboard. He tried to keep his composure, yet it was so difficult. He turned to face the door as he drew shuttering breaths. He loathed Billie quite a bit, and even her headspace was insufferable. Pinky ignored her calls. He didn’t care that Julia was also missing.

He brought his attention back to the balcony, gazing out into the vast void of black sky. He felt another cry working its way up. He held it in as best he could. Dark Pinky was so tired, yet so angry. Why had Brain left? What did he do? Was having the world not enough?

Hot tears escaped his eyes very freely. He brought his attention to his paws, still clasping onto something. Pinky uncurled his fingers, revealing the object: a tiny gold ring that sparkled with light pink diamonds. It began glowing in the light from the lamp.

Brain’s wedding ring.

The symbol of their love, their devotion.

He’d left it.

That’s how Pinky knew he was gone. Forever.

The room around him grew dizzy. Pinky felt his knees give out instantly, collapsing to the floor with a loud thud. His head hit the ground first, sending an astronomical amount of pain rattling towards his skull. His arms reached in front of him, the ring slipping away and clinking on the tile. The blue-eyed mouse felt a sharp twinge of discomfort coming from his arms and legs. He briefly sat up peered down at his lower limbs, grunting when he saw blood trailing through his ivory fur and bleeding into the fabric of his robe.

He'd fallen on the shards from when he’d thrown the water glass on his nightstand after seeing the wedding ring.

It had just sat there, on the dresser. No letter, no warning, nothing.

The abnormal amount of blood was alarming, but what made Dark Pinky really panic was the ring slipping away. He got up on his knees, reached out, and grabbed it quickly, pressing it against his bloodied red chest and robe as if it were his most valuable thing. Seeing all the jewels sparkle pink, the color of Brain’s eyes, proved too much. Especially when he stared at his own ring, the matching light blue diamonds complementing perfectly with the pink.

The tears came back with a vengeance. The sobs Pinky had tried to suppress spiraled out of control. His breaths came out labored and shaky. The pain from the gashes on his arms and legs burned even hotter. His head throbbed. Pinky’s emotional state was in ruin.

“B-Brain.” He began incoherently stuttering, forcing out the word that meant the most to him, though he’d never say it. “B-Brain. Oh Brain! Brain! P-Please! Brain!” Another sob, this one even stronger. The excess moisture in his eyes came rushing out in abundance. It wouldn’t stop.

The sobs turned into wails lightning fast. Dark Pinky was in so much pain, physically and emotionally. It was weird that he’d be this distraught, and yet, he didn’t pay any mind to it. Brain had left him. He deserved to be upset. Still, he hoped that no one would hear him.

“P-Poit.” The verbal tics began slipping out. In between each cry, his nonsense words would find their way to his vocabulary again. They kept coming and coming. Pinky did all he could to push those inane phrases away, but he was already having a tic fit. “N-Narf! Poit! Zort! Troz!” His body shuddered with the outbursts, the cuts still running red. Each tic made his chest ache to unbearable degrees. The tears poured out in massive amounts.

“P-Poit, Poit, Poit!” Pinky wheezed, his voice sore from sobbing. He clasped the ring even tighter in his left paw, reaching his right paw to his head. He felt so miserable. He felt like that vulnerable and pitiful creature he used to be, the one who messed everything up. The one who interjected sentences with random nonsense. The one who got unhappy at the stupidest of things.

The one that Brain loved.

Pinky began having trouble catching his breath, gasping for air. He needed to prevent himself from acting like his old self; he was improved now. Stronger, tougher, ruthless.

Brain hated the new you.

 He rubbed his head, feeling his fingers against his fur. “Stop-poit! Just stop-narf! You’re-zort-better than-poit! This!” Each verbal tic interfered with his words. It became harder to speak each second. Even as he rubbed his forehead, he still could feel streams of tears trailing from his eyes. These horrible thoughts were maddening.

Brain hated you. He was using you. You finally do what he’s always wanted, yet he abandons you.

The weight of everything proved too much for the mouse. Pinky felt his knees give out once again, this time, his back being the first thing to hit the floor. He felt the shards of glass pierce and prod at his skin, but he didn’t bother acknowledging. It was futile to use this as an attempt to calm down. He didn’t call for a servant to clean up the mess. He might later, but not currently. Pinky just let the blood run out, mimicking the way his emotions were spilling. He knew his robe was ruined. He had an inkling that many of these gashes would scar. And yet, he didn’t demand for anyone nor ask anyone for help. It was just him. Brain certainly wasn’t there. Why should he ask for someone when his whole world had fled into the night?

Dark Pinky hugged his legs tightly, feeling his navy-blue colored nails dig into the skin on his shins. The cuts stung, but the blood from them was cold. He let some of it run across his fingers. It felt good. In his left paw was the ring, also pressing against him. His tail dropped at his backside and his chipped ears drooped as he sank into the ball he’d formed with his body. Laying on the floor was uncomfortable, especially with the glass pieces, but it was the only thing he felt like he could do.

He felt another round of sobs and tics coming, only this time, he held them back. Pinky bit his lip with his sharp fangs, though it was a tad painful. That wasn’t a concern. His eyelids grew heavy, to the point where he couldn’t keep them open anymore. He began rasping quietly as he felt himself relax, his breath now even. The last thing he saw before closing his eyes was the eerie night sky, mixed with the light from the table lamp. One solemn excess tear trailed down his face, landing on his chest before drying up. Dark Pinky growled once, though it burned as it escaped his throat.

“I’ll find you some day, Brain. You can’t hide from me for long. Narf,” he rasped before feeling the world fade around him, as he sank into the darkness of his subconscious. Brain wouldn’t get away from him so easily.

*end of preview*

Art gallery- Here's some fanart that inspired certain scenes and moments in my fanfiction. I like to do this when writing to get ideas or to construct a tone or mood. All work featured here is from @wimsiecal who I owe a lot of thanks to for establishing the best Dark Pinky universe of all time!! Seriously, if you're reading this, I apologize for you having to sit through my crappy first draft work to see your mention:

This art inspired the vibe I want to give their relationship plus a scene later on.

This work inspired Dark Pinky's look without the suit.

This inspired Dark Pinky's robe design (which you can see in the preview above)

Would you believe me if I told you that this inspired an entire scene in my fanfiction?

So, yeah, that's all I have. This doesn't give off major spoilers for any surprises I have in store, but I hope it gives you guys a general idea of my writing skills. I was debating on making this since I don't know if people will be interested in this, but it's my first time writing for Dark Pinky and Future Brain, so I decided I wanted some feedback from all of you. If you liked it, that's great! If you didn't, that's fine, too. I'm not a great writer by any means, so I'd like some constructive criticism on what to improve on. Thanks for reading and I hope you have a great day! Happy Dark Pinky Thursday!!

[laurelins-light]

007 Fest - 00QAD Chat Night Prompts/Headcannons

Since Saturday July 29th was @00qad-fandom Chat Night, I thought I'd post and share some of my ideas and headcanons that were inspired by that night (yes I know I'm posting this 2 days later and on the last day of fest, I've been busy unfortunately).

Hacker AU! Where Danny stumbles into Hacker!Alex at a nightclub and Alex was trying to break into the servers the club had in the back room. They almost get caught but Danny saves Alex 

Alex goes into hiding but is saved last minute but Danny doesn’t know this. He gets really into what Alex was doing and decides that since no one is listening to him he’ll take up his mantle and become a hacker. Either he eventually becomes Q OR Q finds him one day and is like - you are my new R. Eventually, Danny starts running Q Branch and running double oh missions and meets James. Alex has been on a multi year long undercover mission with Alec and has been telling Alec all about Danny.One day, they all come back to Q Branch at the same time and all realize they like the same person and Danny is kinda freaking out but Alex, James, and Alec are all like… eh at least one of us will be with you at all times this is good actually. 

Super soldier!Alex meeting Civilian!Danny and Danny teaching him all about the normal world when James and Q are sent to track Alex down and bring him back but end up faking his death and bringing him back as normal Q-branch technician Alex and Danny becomes an Agent instead with Alex as his and James’ “Support Analyst”

In similar vein - Black Widow!Alex who breaks from training but is lost and Danny finds him and then Q and James get involved because Alex is a known threat but they know better after getting to know him and boom Alex defects and becomes an Agent with Danny as his Q-branch support because he only listens and trusts Danny, James, or Q

Some others I thought of after the chat:

Q-Branch Analyst! Alex defects and has to fake his death after meeting Civilian!Danny. Danny then decides that he wants to understand more of Alex's previous world and root out what happened in Q-Branch and joins it. Eventually he becomes Q and succeeds in getting rid of all the corruption in the Branch (and MI6) that led to Alex's (supposed) death. Only after this is done does Alex feel safe to come back. James is the one that helped him hide all those years ago.

Vet!Alex who met a very concerned Danny at his veterinary practice after Danny comes across a mama cat and her 3 kittens. Alex knows another couple (Q + James) that would love to adopt some kittens and he introduces them all.

Assassin!Q who targets Alex, but is thrown off after seeing Danny and realizing that Danny is his long lost twin? brother? doppelganger? and instead gets curious and eventually realizes that he can't kill Alex bc it will hurt Danny. James is Q's support agent and just shrugs and goes along with it all.

[gloriousmonsters]

Thuvia scraps >:3

Also Leave No Trace?

Alright! For those who don't know, I am a semi-conflicted fan of the Barsoom series, a pulp sci-fi/planetary romance in the 1910s ->. It has some fascinating/fun ideas and characters I love, but especially as the series goes onward it varies wildly in quality.

One of the greatest victims of quality dips is the first novel not focused on the original main characters--Thuvia, Maid of Mars. Thuvia was a side character with a fascinating premise--she'd been a slave in Barsoom's 'heaven' (actually a multi-era religious scam run by Therns--white supremacists, because you can't even escape those on Mars) for thirtyish years, and clearly had a ton of trauma and knowledge banked up from that, so a book focused on her should have slapped... but aside from a few moments, she's just turned into a bland copy of the original FMC for the duration of her book.

One of my most 'idk if this will ever happen in significant capacity, but I will THINK about it' projects is just. rewriting/writing novels spinning off the ideas of the Barsoom series, and Thuvia's novel is the only one I've written bits of so far. I have a huge fondness for her, and she's such an interesting character to examine religious/emotional/sexual trauma through. speaking of

It's Him, in the shadows.

It can't be. She knows it, but that doesn't banish the specter--no matter how many times she replays the memory in her head, wearing it as thin as old silk. The twitch of the gun in her hand, the twitch of her finger that had depressed the button. His mouth open to say something else, something that she'd never know. The crack of the explosion, the hole it had ripped in His face. The convulsive shudder that worked its way through her body, emerging as the word that had hissed from her mouth. Beast.

Not a god. Gods didn't bleed. Gods didn't die.

But in a way He hadn't died, had He? He was still with her. Every man whose face she couldn't see. Every hand that touched her unexpectedly. Every shout from far away enough to become distorted to her ears. The bed that was too soft, because the nights she shared His bed had been worse than the nights she slept on the floor. The way certain men saw her now--saw her and knew, somehow, or that was how it seemed. The apathy and fear that alternately bound and hobbled her--that bound her now, frozen to the spot, merely staring at the stealthy motion in the shadows. Not screaming, not backing away.

Simply watching for the gleam of yellow hair, the flash of a gem.

leave no trace under the cut because this is long enough already :P

goddd i love this one even though it hasn't quite taken shape enough to devote my attention to. rough blurb

--

It follows Luz Schreiber, a new Girl Scout troop leader who's driving some of her new troop to an event in another state when her car hits some spikes in the middle of the woods, then is fully disabled when she turns her back. There's no reception and nothing around for miles... except, she realizes, an summer camp site that's been abandoned since some lunatic beheaded a kid there decades ago. Still, it's the only shelter available, so they head there to hole up as they try and plan how to outsmart their unseen enemy, which the girls whole-heartedly believe is the killer from the camp, back for revenge.

Luz has enough to deal with, trying to keep them safe as they encounter more traps and near-fatal attacks. She doesn't know how to tell them, or if she should tell them something that might make them scatter, put them all in danger--that she knows their theory is wrong. That she was the lunatic who beheaded someone at camp decades ago.

--

If you're familiar with Sleepaway Camp, yes, this is inspired by Sleepaway Camp, although my Angela-derived character only committed one, semi-accidental murder. If you don't know Sleepaway Camp, the villain is a quiet weird girl named Angela who's revealed to be trans at the end of the movie for shock value, after getting naked with a boy she then kills, presumably, we're supposed to assume, for reacting badly.

The one scene I've written so far, which I'd post except it's 2 pages and i can't excerpt any part neatly lol, is Luz reflecting on her version of that incident--wherein the boy she revealed herself as trans to attempted to drown her in the lake, and she wound up killing him in self-defense. I absolutely love the gimmick I did with it, which is that Luz has his life flash before her eyes as she's drowning instead of her own--as in, she sees how events will unfold, how he'll get away even without jail time and get married and have a good life while she's completely erased from history, and it's deciding no, fuck that that gives her the strength to fight back.

[immunetoneurotoxin]

Just wanna drip by and say Incendiary has made itself a permanent resident in my brain.

Your writing is absolutely amazing, every scene got me gripping my seat in excitement. Seeing someone write a Pyro-focused long fic, let alone texas toast is so so so rare, I think I've only read 3 (including incendiary) that I've liked so far.

I love this little fire guy with all my heart, and I absolutely adore how you didn't make him too much like a child like how many mischaracterize him. There's the childlike wonder in him but he is capable when push comes to shove and I like that a lot! Every single characterizations in this fic is wonderful, I would love to give Engie a little kiss on his bald head.. he's so adorable.

I'm probably rambling but I just love this fic so much. I'm dealing with semester's midterms, stressed as all hell and this fic has been keeping me going. I practically cheered when I saw chapter 10 update in my inbox lmao. I would love to maybe make some fanart when I have the time, should I just tag you on this site?

Thank you so much for writing Incendiary dude, no kidding when I say it changed my life. I can't wait for the story to unfold! Please take care of yourself and rest well. Good luck on the job hunting as well!!

Omg stranger whoever you are, I just about teared up seeing this in my Inbox -

This is the most grandest, heartfelt comment I think I've ever received in my entire writing career and my heart is GUSHING rn!!!! I was literally out running errands when I saw this and I couldn't stop thinking about it -

When I joined the TF2 fandom in like... oh god, 2014 I think, I was really shocked to see throughout the years that there weren't many Pyro-centered stories out there, which blew my mind. Like how could there not be a deluge of fanfic for Pyro, who is this extremely mysterious, multi-faceted character with so much room for interpretation?! When I first watched Meet the Pyro, I KNEW I had to write a novel about Pyro. Who they are, where they came from, and what happened to them before the events of the gravel war. Massively inspired, of course. But still nonetheless, an origin story that could very well be canon if squinted at, hehe.

This rings true for texas toast content, too!! There isn't a whole lot of it out there and it makes me so sad - I love their dynamic so much! When Incendiary is finished, I do plan on writing some more texas toast oneshots on my AO3 to fill that void. <3 One of the plans is to write a short story about their relationship during the gravel wars as well, that takes place after the events of Incendiary. (plus, Incendiary has only just started to crack the surface tension of the slow burn, and it's only a matter of 1-2 chapters away from when the texas toast really starts showing through so there is that to look forward too as well. (｡˃ ᵕ ˂ ))

also I literally hollered when I read your comment about Pyro's characterization in this story especially, because THAT is THE ONE THING I have been working so incredibly hard towards holy shit - when I tell you the amount of stories I've read that writes them off as this danger-child that needs supervision - which don't get me wrong is not an entirely bad thing!! they do have this massive childlike side to them, but there is also so much more to them than how the fandom perceives them, not taking into much consideration how they typically canonically act in the comics/in-game, and taking into LARGE consideration Meet the Pyro. I was reeling when I realized that a lot of people seemed to completely forget about that interview. I could go on a whole rant about this sdfghjkl but yes, Pyro is definitely more than capable when push comes to shove! they are in a war, after all ;)

and engineer, oh man. I love that soft Texan so much. :') I could talk your ear off about him too!

man I am definitely rambling now, but I literally cannot even express how genuinely happy I am receiving this message, it means the actual world to me. and FANART?!?! oh my god YES - you can definitely tag me here if you do make fanart for Incendiary!! I would be BEYOND honored omg

Thank you so so much for brightening my entire year with this feedback literally - I'm so honored to have you here as a reader and a fan. <3 And I'm sending you all of the luck with your midterms!! You've got this!!

[compressednerve]

Nice to see another scratchalan fan! I was hoping I could hear your hopes and thoughts for Alan wake 2? I’m just hoping we get to see plenty of scratch I’ve seen some speculate he’s gonna be a main villain which sounds great to me :3c ✨

Thank you so much for this ask!! *ScratchAlan is the only ship to be ALIVE for., fellow crazy!!!! Hell fucking yeah!!! We needa make some room for AlanScratch tho, I want to write more Top! Alan because it turns me on. I have a feeling we're gonna see so much Mr. Scratch in AW2 that we might even get sick of him. I don't necessarily want him to be The Main Villain of it in the traditional sense... Mr. Scratch is, ultimately, just another side of Alan... And Alan has *many* sides! >:) We see just a taste of how many Alan's there are from The Signal/The Writer when he can't stop fracturing into further self-persecution. I hope to see lots of different Alan's made manifest, like the Teen Titans "Raven OSDD-1a" episode (shout out to my epic partner @parasitefun for showing me that fucking smash hit).

I have a lot of high hopes and fondness in my heart for Remedy and the development process they've been doing. I was a big fan of Alan Wake in 2013 and I did a looot of RP even in 2015-2017. Crazy shit! I kinda fell off the face of the Earth for a while tho. I've never played Quantum Break, and me and Paras are working thru Control together right now (we're in the Maintenance Sector and it just finished doing the Burn The Trash quest).

We spent most of May/June working thru Alan Wake and we have sooo many things to say on it that we're polishing up because it's such a dense story!! So transitioning from working thru AW with a fine tooth comb, to Control which is like four times the size of AW and has *that* much more to work thru, has been a real treat! Remedy sure knows how to make a good fucking story! It's like a croissant with many, many, many laminated layers to turn around in my head. I'm good at recognizing voice actors, so it made my head explode to realize Matthew Poretta played Darling, and James Mcaffrey played Trench. Like, omfg!! And every new realization along the way that links Control to AW. Just a real treat!

All that being said, I've seen a lot of posts along the lines of like, "Where's Alice!@!!! Where's Barry!!!!!!!" and it's like, will I be disappointed if they are underplayed...? yes. Do I worry that that's a possibility, at all? ...only a little bit! I want to put my faith into Remedy's ability to make this a good story. They've been chipping away at it for 13+ years, after all, and if I remember correctly, The Alan Wake Experience since 2000? As in the conception and development of AW1? So, 23 years entirely... that's a long time to be rotating the same Boy around. AW1 was a masterpiece IMO, a many-layered sandwich of nuance and metaphor, paradoxes within paradoxes... I think AW2 is gonna really surprise all of us.

Alan Wake 2, I'm super curious about what they do with it, and hopefully Mr. Scratch *and* Alan both get room to breathe. I think they will, and I'm so, so intrigued about what they're gonna do with Saga! It seems pretty ambitious for Remedy to do a multi-protagonist storyline like this, and their cheeky insistence that you can play it however you want, there's no wrong way to play, makes me worried. I hope more than anything that they didn't dumb down certain world-building elements (I'm blown away at how we went from TVs, radio show0,s and manuscripts in AW1 to the sheer amount of multi-media that went into Control).

I have in some degrees some fairly bad brain damage that inhibits a lot of my abilities to comprehend certain things, and yet, everything about the way the world-building environment contributes to a Greater Understnding of a Remedy Game that most people tend to ignore or outright complain about! Oh, the TV ruins the pacing, oh I didn't wanna have to stand here listening to someone talk I wanna run around and shoot things, oh boo I didn't like how many manuscripts i had to pick up. It's a little tedious, yes, and it breaks the Pacing Of The Literal Game up a little bit yes, but!!! It's excruciatingly important to the story!! It's a ROLE PLAYING GAME!!! YOU HAVE TO ROLE PLAY OMFG!!!!!! (still salty over how Zero Punctuation reviewed these games considering how fucking detectivey they are).

So anyways all of that being said, I hope that Alan Wake 2 is stuffed to the BRIM with multi-media. I hope we get SICK of manuscripts and casettes and pictures with captions and TV episodes and radio shows and BLAH BLAH BLAH. I hope Saga and Alan have a lot of crazy shit go down with each other because they're also very shippable. I hope Alex Casey calls Alan a shitty writer because he's one of the only obvious "HI, I'M A BOOK CHARACTER INVENTED BY ALAN WAKE. I'M VERY MAD. ABOUT BEING CREATED BY ALAN WAKE."

Ideally I would have played all the Remedy games to be caught up by now on more of the AW2 hype and analysis, because I wish I had more things to say! But because I haven't finished Control or QB yet, I'm trying to stay away from stuff that technically spoils Control just by virtue of being in the AW-verse.

*this is technically a lie because I'm actually a huge multshipper :k lel catch me on ao3 writing about the most bizarre AW pairings just you fuckin wait

[alfvaen]

Novel Chaos

October is a month, all about fall, and Halloween, and (in Canada) Thanksgiving. In some years I've done Janelle Shane's Botober daily AI-generated writing prompts, though the shine is off of AI right now… (This year she recycled some older AI-generated text for the prompts and I don't blame her.) This year I didn't try to do daily writing, though I have been trying to do weekly writing at least, and post some of my writing exercises.

But right now I'm here to talk about the books I read during the month. (I started these monthly posts last November, so now I've been doing them for a full year!) Potential spoilers within for Jessie Mihalik's "Consortium Rebellion" series, Diana Rowland's "White Trash Zombie" series, and Jane Lindskold's "Firekeeper" series.

Jessie Mihalik: Chaos Reigning, completed October 3

I grabbed this one on impulse, and didn't think too much about it. After all, it's SF and not fantasy (even gaslamp fantasy) like the last book, and it would close off another trilogy. I've been kind of linking these books with the Rachel Bach trilogy in my head and trying not to read those too close together. In hindsight, as I was writing up the C.L. Polk book I read before it, one thing that these series do have in common is the romance elements. But thinking of it more, that's not enough to make them overly similar.

I'm not a huge romance reader. I have dutifully tried a few, but I have never felt particularly comfortable with the genre. I'm not saying that it's a bad genre, that romance books are bad and nobody should read them, or any of the wilder anti-romance viewpoints I've heard out there, but nonetheless the inclusion of romance tropes can detract from my enjoyment of a book. And maybe it's just the female-hetero-POV ones, appreciation of the male form and stuff, that gets me, maybe it's a lot of cultural conditioning on me, maybe it's a character flaw in me. But I don't care for it that much. I'm reading this anyway, though, aren't I? (Even if it's "in spite of" rather than "because of".)

Anyway, the series is about three sisters from one of these high-tech corporate Houses. This book focuses on Catalina a.k.a. "Cat", the youngest of the family, prone to being underestimated and acting all superficial, but as a child she was given secret (and illegal) genetic modifications to make her fast and strong. Her house, Van Hasenberg, is at war with a rival house, and Cat ends up going to a high-class multi-day party to try to get some more information. Her sister Bianca (from Book 2) insists she bring along a couple of bodyguards, and that she fake-date one of them so he'll have better access. Cat drags her feet but reluctantly agrees. (So it's not only a fake-dating romance and a bodyguard romance, but both at once!) Said bodyguard, Alex, also appeared in Book Two, though I only vaguely remember him.

During the party, assassins show up and try to kill Cat and several other nobles (including her friend Ying), as part of what turns out to be a coordinated attack on all the noble houses, and Cat is forced to go on the run and try to save the day, with Alex (and Ying's) help. In the process she finds love (though the full physical consummation gets interrupted several times before they finally manage it) and herself.

The romance feels a little…I dunno, smooth? I never get the sense that there's that many obstacles in their path, apart from perhaps Cat's own self-doubts and paranoia about her illegal mods being found out. And getting over her annoyance at Bianca foisting Alex and his partner on her in the first place. They didn't feel like serious problems. But it's okay, because I liked the SF plot well enough, so I enjoyed the book overall, and maybe I'll try the other trilogy we have of hers at some point.

Stephen King: Different Seasons, completed October 9

Now I realize that I have already read a Stephen King book this year, Under The Dome back in April. And it was technically two books, in paperback, at least. But you know, the guy doesn't stick to only publishing one book a year, so I'm not going to feel too bad about this. I wanted a book by a male author, and it's October so it's spooky season, and what with one thing and another, in my current schedule it'd be like seven more books before I could get an untyped male author slot to stick this into, and October will almost certainly be over by then.

It may seem surprising that I haven't read this one already. Well, as I may have mentioned before, I didn't really start reading King seriously until the 90s, by which point he already had a few books out, and I confess that I was mostly concentrating on novels. I did like Four Past Midnight, though, and I have been meaning to get to this one. I think we didn't even have a copy for a while, which may have held me back. And I ended up reading Skeleton Crew and Night Shift first. But now, here it is.

I'd consider this to really be the last book in my Stephen King backfilling. After this, I will have read everything up to, like, well, Lisey's Story. (Assuming you don't count Thinner. Or Black House. Shut up.) I've been trying to alternate backfilling with forward progress, but after this it will be full steam ahead! Ish.

I am already somewhat familiar with most of this book anyway. After all, three of the novellas were made into movies, right? Definitely "Shawshank Redemption", and "The Body" became "Stand By Me", and I think that I remember seeing ads for a movie called "Apt Pupil" which I'm assuming is the same. Only the fourth one, whose name I can't even recall offhand, I know nothing about. I haven't actually seen any of the movies, but quite frankly I'm pretty sure I remember the twist in "Shawshank Redemption", or least the movie, from some Cracked article years ago. I actually knew very little about the plot of "The Body", though, so I was looking forward to that one. The fourth one, I hadn't even heard of before.

What I guess I hadn't realized about this, though, is how mainstream these stories are. "Shawshank Redemption" (after hearing about the movie so much it seems wrong to call it "Rita Hayworth And Shawshank Redemption", too wordy) is a story about some guys in prison; "Apt Pupil" is about the teenager fascinated with Nazis, and "The Body" is just about some kids going on a cross-country adventure. "The Breathing Method" has some vague supernatural implications, in the mysterious nature of the gentleman's club our protagonist joins, so it is at least "uncanny", I suppose, and the story within the story has definite horror overtones.

So to some extent it's a bit of a letdown. "Shawshank Redemption" is mildly clever, I suppose, though once again I knew the twist at the end. "Apt Pupil" was mostly just sordid, with a pair of unsavoury characters who both take to killing off "winos" (revealing picture of how homeless people at the time were perceived--"winos" or "bag ladies", all of them the dregs of society who won't be missed), and while they get their comeuppance at the end, I did not enjoy following them for 180 pages. "The Body" was okay, I guess; I had seen the train bridge excerpt from the movie, and I was vaguely aware of the pie-eating contest scene as well, though I had no idea that was just from a story and not part of the actual events. (Yeah, two of Gordie's stories are included, and I couldn't tell you why he put in the other one because it didn't fit at all.) "The Breathing Method" is a story about an offbeat gentleman's club where they tell stories, which is a reasonably common trope, with an even shorter story about the titular method encapsulated inside it; the inner story is macabre, the other story a little light on conflict if heavy on atmosphere.

So now I guess I'm slightly more interested in the movies "Shawshank Redemption" and "Stand By Me", though probably not "Apt Pupil", and at least I've read it once and maybe that'll be it.

Jack L. Chalker: The River of Dancing Gods, completed October 12

I first encountered Jack L. Chalker through one of my friends reading one of the Well World books, and it looked kind of interesting so I tried it out. I loved it and read the whole series. I read his Four Lords of The Diamond series (though out of order at first because it was based on what the library had), and his Flux & Anchor/Soul Rider series, and basically everything of his I could find. His work was mostly based around transformation--whether it was the Well of Souls transforming you into some alien race, or some wizard from Flux, or whatever, people were constantly getting transformed, sometimes into animals, sometimes into sex slaves, sometimes into the other sex, whatever. I particularly liked the Well World because it was a planet made up of different hex-shaped artificial environments for a sampling of alien races, and I spent many happy hours trying to fill in the complete map and populate them with alien races from other books. I even tried to draw one or two of the aliens, though my artistic ability was never great.

At some point it all began to pall a bit, and I never finished his last series, and then he died shortly after that (I had the opportunity to meet him at the one Worldcon I attended, but I was too late to sign up for his Kaffeeklatsch so it didn't happen). His series did get a little samey, and later ones a little perfunctory. And it's been a while since I reread any of them. In recent years, with pressure to weed my collection a bit, I ended up just getting rid of some of the books and series I hadn't gotten as attached to (like the Changewinds series and Web of The Chozen). But some of them were kind of on the bubble so I wasn't quite sure.

This all heavily mirrors what happened with Piers Anthony, who was also one of my favourite authors around the same time; the big difference is that Piers Anthony didn't die (yet) and instead kept churning out books I was progressively less interested in, not to mention getting a little bit too interested in writing about relationships with young teenage girls. I reread his Incarnations of Immortality series a couple of years ago (and ended up just keeping the first book, I think, at the end). And now it's time for me to re-evaluate an old Chalker series.

The Dancing Gods series was intended as light fantasy, I guess. Most of what I remember about it is that our main characters are a couple of people from our world who cross over (making it a portal fantasy) to a fantasy realm where the rules are written down, literally, in a huge series of tomes that basically encapsulate all the fantasy clichés and tropes Chalker could think of. (Which reminds me a lot of Tom Sawyer's insistence on adhering to all those tropes and clichés in the prison rescue in Huckleberry Finn.) And those rules literally become the way the world works, like laws of nature. So it's intended to be a literal parody or pastiche or something. But I remember one or two elements from the books that have lingered with me over the years, so I decided to reread them and see if they had any overall redeeming value.

It's not particularly madcap or anything, this isn't Craig Shaw Gardner or Robert Asprin here, and it takes a while to get past the part where the fantasy realm wizard (Throckmorton Ruddygore) convinces our protagonists (Joe and Marge) to leave their world behind (where they were about to die in a road accident anyway) and cross over. And then they need to acclimatize to the world and train (Joe as a barbarian, Marge as a sorceress, ho hum--this kind of thing is why I was pleasantly surprised in Barbra Hambly's Darwath series when the woman became the fighter and the man became the wizard). Then we get some transformations--Joe because he runs into a Circean witch and gets turned into a bull, and Marge because she's been infused with faerie blood to speed up her training.

Our actual quest has to do with retrieving a magic lamp that grants wishes (though the twist is that it only grants you one wish for free, and if you make a second wish then you swap places with the genie), and it's also a little slow to get going, with a few random incidents, but the genie section is nicely interesting, and then we get the climactic battle with the dark lord's armies at the end. And the promise of sequels, of course, which is also in The Rules.

It's kind of on the bubble as far as keeping it goes. It's kind of short and isn't particularly funny, but it feels like it has something going for it other than trying to be funny. I guess I'll see how the other books in the series hold up. But I can tell that this likely won't be the only one in the series I keep.

Wesley Chu: The Art of Prophecy, completed October 19

After a reread, according to my cycle, it's time for either trying a book by a new author or reading a diversity book. I knew it was supposed to be a male author, and so I ended up grabbing one of the few male diversity books I have available right now, from the recent Wesley Chu series, The War Arts Saga. And only belatedly did I think to myself, wait, was it supposed to be trying a new author instead? and sure enough, it was. But oh, well, it'll be fine.

I've tried a few other Wesley Chu series, but I don't know if I've finished one yet. I read Time Salvager, but haven't been able to get a copy of the sequel Time Siege yet. I read The Births of Pi and The Deaths of Pi, but I wasn't sure about continuing to The Rebirths of Pi so I don't have that one. But this one looked interesting and I decided to pick it up, even in trade paperback. My wife has already read it and we've bought the sequel (we thought it was just a duology, but apparently there's a third one, which I suppose is not unexpected), so the chance that I will finish it are pretty decent, as long as this one doesn't suck or something.

The basic premise is that there's a teenage boy, Wen Jian, who has been prophesied from birth to be the one who defeats the Great Khan of the Katuia, but when warmaster Ling Taishi checks up on his training, she discovers he's being pampered and pulled different ways by too many competing masters, so she takes over instead. And then…the Great Khan gets killed in a random skirmish while he's drunk out of his mind, and the ruling Dukes decide that the prophesied hero is too much of a liability and they need to dispose of him, and Taishi and Jian go on the lam to try to figure out what went wrong with the prophecy.

The setting seems fairly medieval-Chinese, at least at first. And then we get POV from some of the Katuia refugees, on the "Sea of Grass"…which has grass blades large enough to climb and jump off of. And frequent sinkholes into what seems to be an actual sea underneath the Sea of Grass. And also the nomadic Katuia travel around the Sea of Grass in some kind of mechanized cities, possibly with steam technology? Also there are three moons. So it seems at least secondary-world, and an outside chance that this is one of those supposed secondary-world fantasies which is actually an SF colony world? So the setting is interesting, and by the middle of the book we end up cycling POV between the three main characters (Jian, Taishi, and Salminde of the Katuia), often with good chapter-end cliffhangers, and I didn't end up finding any of the POVs a real slog to get through (always a risk with multiple-POV books).

In the end it's pretty satisfying, with plenty of high-energy martial arts fights with bonus magic powers that work well on the page. My biggest gripe is that while there is a lovely illustrated map at the front, it has some huge omissions. Where's the Sea of Grass, for instance? Any time there's a map, it should have all the places in the story on the map so that you can always look them up.

Diana Rowland: White Trash Zombie Apocalypse, completed October 23

Time for another non-male author, and I felt like in honour of the spooky season it should be something…with zombies, maybe? Which either meant the fourth Mira Grant zombie book, Feedback, or the next Diana Rowland White Trash Zombie book. And I feel like I have kind of been neglecting the Diana Rowland (even if her zombies are less horror-y), so I went with that one.

Diana Rowland is on the (very) short list of authors that I discovered when I went to the World Fantasy Convention when they were in Calgary and ended up at the banquet sharing a table with a number of strangers--and since this was WFC, most of them were authors. I guess I don't remember everyone who was at the table, but Carrie Vaughn was definitely there (I had read her first book already so I didn't technically discover her there), as well as Mary Robinette Kowal (as I believe I mentioned previously) and also Diana Rowland. Her first book hadn't actually come out yet, but I made sure to pick it up as soon as it did. That was the first book of her Kara Gillian urban fantasy series, Mark of The Demon, and I've been following that closely since it came out.

It's reasonably common for an urban fantasy writer to start a side series, either with a different main character in the same world (like Patricia Briggs and Faith Hunter have done), or in a completely different world. (Yes, I suppose in general it's not unknown for a writer to have two series going at the same time, but work with me here.) If the series are in the same world, when I will generally try to keep up with them in chronological order as they relate to each other, like with the Patricia Briggs "Alpha & Omega" series relative to her Mercy Thompson books. (Publication order often works too, of course.) Otherwise I'll tend to stick with the one series as long as I'm enjoying it, and then maybe jump ship for the other one if the first series starts to pall. In this case, it was more that the Kara Gillian books were coming out more slowly, so I had time to go and read the White Trash Zombie ones in between. (I was following Rowland on Facebook back when I was on Facebook, and it sounds like she had a lot of crap going on in her life, so no judgement.)

Anyway, the titular character of the White Trash Zombie series is Angel Crawford, a low-income high school dropout (in Rowland's home state of Louisiana) who one day wakes up and finds out that she's been turned into a zombie. These are not supernatural zombies, as far as I can tell, nor are they mindless zombies--they've been infected with a parasite that requires them to consume brains to stay healthy. If they consume enough, then they can even have some super-strength, -speed, and -healing abilities, and the potential for outright immortality. (And, of course, if they don't, then they are overcome by insatiable cravings until they start attacking people and trying to eat their brains.) It turns out that she actually had gotten in an accident and a good samaritan had given her the zombie parasite to heal her; later she got hooked up with the ideal zombie job, working in a morgue, where there's lots of discarded brains for the consuming. She meets up with her saviour and other powerful zombie figures, and has to deal with those who want to use zombies for their own nefarious ends.

So yes, zombies are being rehabilitated into "they're also people with special nutritional needs". And unfortunate instinctual behaviours if those needs aren't satisfied… Does that make them allegories for drug addicts? So far, at least, it seems that they can't just "kick the habit". And it seems like a harmful stereotype to say that drug addicts turn into ravening monsters when denied their fix. But perhaps it's drawing some parallels here anyway? Angel was a drug user before her zombification, and now if she does drugs or even drinks or smokes, all it does is use up her supply of brain prions faster.

The titles from this series are often references to other titles--My Life As A White Trash Zombie, Even White Trash Zombies Get The Blues, How The White Trash Zombie Got Her Groove Back, even White Trash Zombie Gone Wild… This one is more of a stretch. After all, this is not the last book in the series, and there's no apocalypse. Angel does get caught in a flood at some point after days of torrential rain, which I suppose is mildly catastrophic, at least, but mostly I guess the title is justified by the fact that, in the background of events, there's a movie being filmed at a nearby high school, "High School Zombie Apocalypse!!" (I know titles are hard, especially when you establish a strong theme and then you have to stick with it even when it doesn't apply…)

Overall I liked the book; Angel is starting to feel less like just "white trash" and integrating into a new community (of zombies) that accept her for what she is. She goes through a lot, but comes out stronger. But I still want to finish the Kara Gillian series before I go on to the next one…

Jane Lindskold: Wolf's Head, Wolf's Heart, October 31

Time for another female author, and I felt like maybe it was time for one of those big thick epic fantasies, possibly one that has been sitting on my shelf for a while.

Jane Lindskold has been around for a while, but I haven't actually read much of her. I'd first read Marks of Our Brothers from the library, which I seem to recall was SF, and not much else about it. She did a collaboration with Roger Zelazny called Donnerjack which I think we have but I haven't read. At some point she started coming out with this big thick fantasy series about a girl raised by wolves or something, and eventually I read the first book, Through Wolf's Eyes. It was somewhat on the bubble for me, which is why it's not until nine years later that I'm getting around to reading the next book. (It is also, as I mentioned, big thick fantasy, almost 800 pages, and Goodreads Challenge has been skewing my reading choices towards shorter books, so maybe that hasn't helped.) And this book also came out a while ago--in the acknowledgements section the author talks about how difficult the past year has been, and it turns out that that past year was 2001 (in which, famously, things happened), so it's not a classic fantasy series from the 80s or anything, but it's still less recent than a lot of the books I read these days (2010s vintage, in particular, for the urban fantasy).

There seems to be a trope out there, not all that common but still not unknown, of having a character with an interesting background, perhaps raised in solitude or something, who then ends up getting dropped into what seems like a fairly generic fantasy scenario. C.J. Cherryh's Fortress In The Eye of Time, for instance, or Michelle Sagara's "The Sundered", maybe Gwyneth Jones's Divine Endurance (it's been a while since I read it), Rebecca Bradley's "Lady In Gil" series… Sometimes the fantasy scenario gets a boost from the interesting character, and sometimes it drains away all their interestingness and results in generic plot.

Anyway, it's been a while, obviously, so we'll see how easily I can get reoriented into the actual story. It turns out that our wolf-girl, Firekeeper, showed up in the human kingdoms with her giant wolf friend, she encountered human civilization for the first time, made some friends, and meanwhile in local fantasy politics there was some strife which ended in a regime change, and that's book one. In general we seem to spend as much time with Firekeeper's friends as we do with Firekeeper herself, but the reintroduction here was pretty good. We have Elise, the minor noblewoman who's kind of in love with a lower-class healer guy who everyone calls Doc, and we have Derian, the son of a successful stablekeeper who now has the ear of a king. We also have some bad guys, not least the deposed leader from the first book. There's some weddings, there's assassination attempts. And there is, apparently, a history of colonialism.

See, the kingdoms here are actually more or less colonies from overseas, though I think they've lost contact with the original kingdoms. There was a big plague which happened a century ago and preferentially killed people with magical talent, and as a result magic is generally distrusted and magic-users considered evil. And also, the sentient animals (not just wolves, but all sorts of birds and mammals and maybe even reptiles, idk) were kind of driven out of the coastal realms by the humans, particularly the mages, back in the day. Oh, the animals fought among each other, too, but they're very ashamed of it. (Totally not First Nations-coded here, oh no.) The humans have mostly forgotten about them and while they did want to see Firekeeper back with her people, they're not particularly eager to remind the humans at large about their existence.

Meanwhile, deposed monarch took some magic stuff with them when they fled. The new monarch kind of wants it back, and the animals want Firekeeper to confiscate it from the humans and bring it to them for safekeeping, and there's our plot. They end up having to go to the neighbouring realm of New Kelvin, where sorcery is much more respected, though it turns out they don't have any of it themselves. The primary antagonist, Lady Melina Shield, is seen in the POV of a couple of vaguely villain-coded characters, but we don't get her POV directly, which I think is quite effective, since she is clearly an accomplished (and possibly magically-aided) manipulator.

Firekeeper is a central character, but not necessarly the main one, though she does have a character arc, as does Elise; Derian, not so much, but it's fine. The main climax of the book seems to come about two-thirds of the way through; there's one after it, but it has lower stakes and is more of an anticlimax. Overall I found the book charming and almost cozy in the early parts, with more action and tension coming later. I feel better about the series now and am more inclined to continue on, perhaps in less than nine years.

For nonfiction, I'm about halfway through Ed Yong's An Immense World, but I took a break to read some more Marvel comics (up to May 1994), and cut down on the puzzle games a bit. Hopefully I'll finish An Immense World before the end of the year at least, and I'm also feeling like reading some more from that Love & Rockets bundle sometime soon.

Also, we did watch "Stand By Me" on Halloween, and now I'm beginning to think that right after reading something is not the best time to watch the movie adaptation. I enjoyed River Phoenix and Wil Wheaton's performances, but mostly there was a lot of trying to remember if it was exactly the same as the novella or not. (And similar effects with our watching the "Under The Dome" TV series. That's on the back burner now as we power through Series Seven of Doctor Who from the library, though.)

[bam-monsterhospital]

i realize i haven't blabbed about the SOS Trio in a while...

hnghghg our kitties are gonna be 4 WHOLE YEARS OLD THIS YEAR OMG

they're growing so faaaaaaaaast

ollie's killed at least one mouse, and has ran around with it.

sawyer's afraid of fans and fire, but is the bravest little toaster on the planet; if something scares her/the others, she's the first to investigate/stay around/keep it in her sights.

salem teleports and is basically the black lion of voltron. and is SO SHY AAAAAAAA. and still vampire's my neck as her form of a cuddle session but oNLY if she thinks we're alone and she won't be bothered/noticed/judged.

oliver is basically my own personal minion. paps my face and whines at me to get under the blankets with me when i sleep (also he only has one fur coat and it's short unlike his sisters' long multi-coats, so he gets cold easily).

sawyer LOVES being held like a baby, will do summersaults to achieve this, and wants to be held by everyone like this because she knows she's a living breathing adorable cartoon munchkin.

salem loooooooooves chin and throat scritches more than anything and WILL direct every single hand to those places rather than settling for head rubs. she also likes her belly rubbed.

oliver runs like a horse. and runs eVERYWHERE.

sawyer is the first cat i've seen on the planet to conform to the stereotype of kitties loving balls of yarn. she's a menace. we have to keep our eyes peeled for her because she will eat ALL THE YARN. goddammit shmoo. oh, she also loves playing with bottlecaps. any and all bottlecaps. she WILL FIND THEM.

salem runs around corners like scooby doo. legs everywhere. you can SEE the scooby doo chase sound effect. also she's got tarantula legs and they're beautiful. Her legs also go everywhere when she plays; 0-60 and nothing in between with this one.

i'm so glad none of them fear water, kait was a genius to get us to introduce that tub of water to them to play with when they were kittens.

Also the hierarchy is as follows:

Salem is a beeeeeeeg gurl (she IS the black lion of voltron, after all), heavy as hell (it's all muscle ;u;, she's so goddamn strongk), and patient forever, BUT, she's also a pushover: she gets bullied by the smallest cat imaginable (sawyer), and the furthest she resorts to is growls (which sawyer ignores because she knows salem won't do anything). She also likes cuddling with, playing with, and hanging out with ollie., ALL THE TIME. She pulls her punches with both the twins, but doesn't mind being firm with oliver, and won't take shit from him. She also enjoys grooming him.

Sawyer is a fuckin bully. Smallest cat you can imagine, puffy as hell, just a lil heckin stuffed animal cartoon sweatheart of a kitty... but her two states are "smol" and "mad". Plays with oliver the most, whether she wants to or not -__-. Can dish it out and keep up with him for the most part, which is relieving for us, but she also has her limits... and she's so smolllll. She also still loves ollie, they cuddle sometimes and she demands to groom him here and there ;u; Bullies salem constantly -__- and salem LET'S HER DO IT. AAAAAA. hOWEVER. Also has been recently sleeping with salem, and they're not on bad terms. She's just the type to push others' limits constantly. A napoleon of a kitty.

Ollie's on the bottom wrung. He's a boy, so this makes sense. Also an energizer bunny, which is apparently a thing with boy cats too. He wants playtime all the time (we gotta play with him more. he's even learned fetch and forgot it several times), and WILL bug his sisters about it. Especially sawyer. Luckily she bugs him about it too. He cuddles with anyone available, mostly salem (they usually take up spots besides me wherever i am), and gets groomed by both his sisters... also sometimes starts to groom them. I've even seen him walk over to salem, whine a little, and then next thing I know salem has a hold of him and is grooming him, while he has a blissed out squinty expression on his face. He buries everyone's poopies in the litter box and omg. Omg. That boy likes to terraform. He's too good at digging. He displaces sand EVERYWHERE, GODDAMMIT OLLIE. He's so fuckin meticulous about having the poopies and smells covered, sometimes he interrupts sawyer WHILE SHE'S USING THE LITTER to try and get a headstart on the digging and burying of smells >:U

All three have to be involved in anything anyone's doing. You're doing an activity in the house with them around? Guard your shit. Paint water is not safe. Drying paints are not safe. Laptop keyboards are not safe. Sketchbooks are not safe. Kitchen cooking and baking is not safe. Yoga and stretches and exercise is not safe. Assembling furniture is not safe. Moving furniture is not safe. They will be there and they WILL be involved.

Also they are box cats.

I love our kitties ;u;

[heavenlyhoundoom]

A dark reawakening.

(Gabriel, Jeremy, Susie, and Fritz are the confirmed names for the kids who posses Freddy, Bonnie, Chica, and Foxy.)

(It's been ten years since Arthur and Carlos were killed, they became friends and have been roaming the Willy and Freddy's Wonderland building as ghosts shortly after their deaths, but that was about to change.)

Carlos: Hey Arthur, do you hear that?

Arthur: I do hear that, I wonder what the noise is coming from.

Carlos: Let's find out.

(The two phase through the walls and search every room until they found the source of the sound.)

Carlos: Oh my God.....

(The two see Jerry and his crew had committed a mass suicide and what they were hearing was their dead bodies collapsing on the floor.)

Carlos in tears: Oh Mateo, we should've never gotten jobs here....

(Carlos cries, wishing he could've saved Mateo from both becoming a sadistic psychopath and from being part of this mass suicide, Arthur on the other hand was flipping off Philippe's dead body.)

Arthur: May you rot in Hell!

Carlos still in tears: I'm so sorry, brother...

Gabriel: Mr.Flores and Mr.Allen, I've become a monster!

(Gabriel runs in crying and it's revealed that his soul was transferred into the Freddy animatronic.)

Carlos: Oh my gosh!

Arthur: What happened to you, Gabriel!?

Gabriel: I don't know, I was just reading by the robot bear and the next thing I know, I got sucked into the robot!

(Gabriel starts crying and Carlos comforts him.)

Carlos: It's okay Gabriel, I'm here for you.

Arthur from a distance: Hey Carlos, It appears that Gabriel wasn't they only one who got trapped in one of these robots.

(It's revealed that all four kids are stuck in the animatronics with Jeremy possessing Bonnie, Susie possessing Chica, and Fritz possessing Foxy.)

Susie: What's happening to us, Mr. Flores!?

Carlos: I don't know, Susie, but I sure we can figure it out.

Mateo: Oh how cute....

(Carlos was in shock to here Mateo's voice, he turns around and sees him possessing Tito.)

Carlos: Mateo, I thought you offed yourself!

Mateo: I did, however that wasn't just a mass suicide, it was a satanic ritual to transfer our souls to the animatronics to achieve immortality!

Arthur: You know, that actually explains a lot.

(Philippe enters in, who has possessed Arty.)

Philippe: Well, well, well, if it isn't Arthur, how's has it been mon ami? (My friend)

Arthur: Go to Hell you manipulative dirtbag!

Philippe: I think I'd rather...ψ C̴͈͚̍̓́o̶̡͛̏̄̑͘ǹ̸̡͆͝s̴̗͙̄̀̀u̸͍̰͛m̵̧͔̖͕̊̀̾͠͠e̷̼̩̋ ̸̛̻̱̍̂̓́y̴̧͇̻͌́͘ȯ̶̞̹̮͑͂ͅu̶̬̱̎̐̍̂!̵̬̅!̵̬͋̂̓͘!̶͈͍͉̄̉͋͛̏ ⛥

Arthur: What!?

Philippe: ⛥ C̶̜͒ǫ̵̗̩͇͋̿̓ṃ̷́̏ḙ̷̄͐͆̕͠ ̶͔̭͈͔͐͘͝ḩ̵̠̿̈̎̈̓ḙ̵̢͍͠r̵̤̖͑̅̽ȅ̸̡̪̝̜́͌͝,̸͇̭̪͗̋̈̓̒͜ ̶̮̑̂̕y̶̬̒̔͌̔o̴͈͋͐̈̋̑ũ̷̜͐̚ͅ ̷͙͈͔̇͗͘͜t̸̀͛��͓a̸̩̦̹̓͑͝ș̷̟̈ṱ̵̂͊̅̊̕y̸̢͇͌̔̏̈̚ ̸̡̧̓̃s̶͍̏̋̋͝ơ̸͉̹̓̅̚ú̷̧̝̼̼͔́ľ̷̺̠̰̐!̴̹̪̠̋͝ ψ

(Arty tries to consume Arthur and he gets the Hell out of there with Carlos and the kids following him.)

Mateo: Well I guess I'm alone, I don't want to eat my brother any. I draw the line at family.

(Mateo realizes that Philippe could end up eating Carlos too.)

Mateo: Arty, don't you dare eat my brother because even I care about him just as much as my weak and pathetic split personality!

(After running into a multi pathed hallway, the kids get separated from both Carlos and Arthur, who went into the animatronic storage room.)

Arthur: What are we gonna do before Philippe finds us?

(Carlos stares at the animatronics and realizes that there's only one option.)

Carlos: I think we have no choice but to transfer our souls into the robots as well.

Arthur: Are you serious!?

Carlos: They can only consume us if we're stray souls, that's why Philippe went after us and not the kids. I'll go first.

(Carlos transfer his soul into El Chip.)

Carlos: I'm perfectly safe from the killers, now it's your turn.

Arthur: Okay...

(Arthur tries to decide on which animatronic to possess until Philippe started to open the door and he just possessed Monty because he was the closest robot to him.)

Philippe: I̶̯͚͇͠'̴͙̻͓̹̻̿̂́͘v̷̩͕̦̞̳̂͊͗͂̔ẽ̵̘̻̄́̃̊ ̴̹̖̯̝̆͜f̴̹̭̲̈͐õ̷͙͘u̸͇͂̋̓̅n̸̢̄͋d̴̨̘͇̈́͋̈̀ ̸̯̬̒̃̾͒̀ȳ̵̜̔̄̔o̴̮̤̼͋̀̈́̈́͝ū̴̡͇͚̳̘- huh!?

(Philippe sees that Carlos and Arthur have already connected their souls to some animatronics.)

Philippe: Oh come on, I wanted to know what stray soul tasted like!

(Mateo rushes in the room.)

Mateo: I won't let you eat my brother!

Philippe: Mateo, wait!

(Mateo tackles him and sees that his brother is safe in an animatronic.)

Mateo: Oh hello, brother.

Carlos: Hola, brother.

Carlos: (At least he still cares about me in this state.)

Philippe: Get off of me!

Mateo: Sorry...

(Mateo gets off of Philippe, even if he didn't want to.)

Mateo: By the way, we go by our animatronic names now, (flirtatious tone) isn't that right Arty?

Arty: Shut up, Tito!

[zaidshair]

"Yes. Yes, you're right," Zaid murmured, when Darcy pointed out the stark reality. That they'd witnessed something no one else had, likely. And now it was their responsibility to tell everyone else. The way Darcy went around, with her theories (convictions, in fact) that the past was all a simulation.

Would anyone even believe Darcy, if she then tried to tell people about a gigantic multi-headed hornet? Maybe; but Zaid was arrogantly glad that he'd witnessed it too. People would have no reason to doubt his account, after all.

"I don't know, love. And why would anyone build a robot so large? That thing didn't even look like it could fly...do hornets have queens?" Zaid asked the question and felt stupid, like a four-year old asking 'why is the sky blue'? Questions that sounded obvious but weren't. These things weren't 'hornets' after all - they were robots. Robots did not have queens. Zaid's head was starting to pound. He massaged one temple. "Fucking hell, I've got a head on me. Don't you ever get tired of thinking," he half-joked to Darcy.

Now he was joking and riffing with Darcy, the resident looney on the island. But Zaid had to admit, running through the forest and dodging hornets, she didn't do anything wild or unpredictable. She was reliable...dependable, even. Fear and panic made him trust in Darcy, and she didn't disappoint. Maybe Zaid even liked her for it.

And when they emerged back onto the beach, yes - everything was the same. Nothing had changed. Smaller hornets were still attacking things, people were still trying to shoo them off. But it was better, Zaid realized, than getting lost in that bloody forest.

He almost wished Darcy said she saw nothing on the multi-headed screens, not from the island and definitely not from outside the island. At least then he could dismiss his own...scene...as a figment of his panic. Not real. Not taunting him. When Darcy asked, more clever and intuitive than Zaid had given her credit for, he just shook his head and walked on.

"Nothing. I was just scared," he said with such finality, there was no room for any follow-up question. He made long strides to separate himself from Darcy. He pointed towards Tej's bungalow. "I'm going this way. I'll see you later, yeah."

A pause, and then an appreciative and earnest, "Stay safe, love."

End!!

Zaid was in some kind of shock. Darcy wasn't quite sure why, but it seemed like he saw something or somebody on the tv screens that got his mind running, spinning, completely losing any kind of focus on what was happening around them and really, if one of the unknown people she saw on the screens was somebody he knew, she got it to some degree, but it was still dangerous. They got lucky that it didn't outright go for them but passed them by, they should not risk anything.

And yet, it still took her some time (what felt like an eternity but it probably wasn't that long) to snap him out of it. Only for him to point out that she's been hurting him all this time. "Shit, sorry, I didn't mean--" she snapped her fingers away and looked over her shoulder again making sure nothing was behind them.

He took her hand then and she squeezed it. "Don't apologize, this shit is-- yeah, it's scary as hell, you're good. We just gotta get out of here." The how was still questionable for Darcy, but she didn't bring it up, instead she just nodded at his suggestion to go exact opposite to where the gigantic hornet was headed. As long as they were getting away from it, they could figure out the rest.

"We need to warn people about this big one. It didn't seem too bothered by us, but if it comes to our base and starts stinging people..." She rubbed the place where the smaller one stung her earlier. "The small one was bad enough, one from this could pretty much kill anyone." Not good prospects, to say the least...

They did end up finding the beach and Darcy breathed a sigh of relief, but it only lasted for a moment. "Do you think there's a chance the mist was intentionally keeping us from the beach somehow until we saw that thing? Almost like-- I don't know, a warning or a taunt or something?" Did the smaller ones chase them to the big one or was it all a coincidence and she saw too much into things?

He brought up the screens and if she saw something on them himself - Darcy wasn't quite sure how to bring up the freezing herself. She originally decided to get back to it once they all dealt with the hornets and they could breathe again, but since he asked... "Yeah, I saw recordings of a bunch of us. That was pretty creepy. And then there were some screens that had scenes and people from the simulation. Or the outside world, if that is better description for you."

She tilted her head, tried to read anything out of his face - he just seemed in his thoughts, really, but there had to have been more about it. "What did you see, Zaid? You just froze, so you had to see something. Or more like somebody you knew before all of this?"